Managing Upwards II
Trainer and Conference Speaker FRANK NEWBERRY continues his series on Managing Upwards or ‘managing the boss’. In Part 1 Frank gave his first five tips for people who have just one boss to worry about. He now offers tips six to ten.
PART 1 of this series outlined how you could raise your profile with your line manager, how you need to build a rapport i.e. a working relationship with your manager that has usefulness and harmony, and how you might get yourself named as your boss’s successor.
6. Have a ‘Heart to Heart’ Talk
If it all seems rather a long way off at the moment then you might need to have an ‘off the record’ open discussion with your line manager - in order to check your true value to him or her and to the organisation.
It might be wise not to mention why you want the discussion at the outset. You could say that you have some concerns you would like to share privately. As discussed in previous issues of this magazine, it can be beneficial to say no more at this stage and leave your manager curious about what is on your mind. Let him or her worry (if they will) about whether they have upset you, whether you have another job offer and so on.
At the meeting you might explain that you are happy in your work but that you want to know whether you can
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build a career in the organisation. You could say that you are keen to learn whether you should view this job as a long or short term appointment.
Now, if they are positive about you and your prospects, you can start booking coaching and mentoring appointments straight away. If the picture is not quite so rosy then at least you know and you can pick their brains about what your next step might be.
It might be important that this discussion be ‘off the record’ in order to get your boss to open up. They may well feel able to speak more freely if, afterwards, it is as if the discussion never took place, hence the name ‘off the record’. It might also increase your own level of confidence as you go through the process.
7. Exchange Perceptions and Expectations
If, after your heart to heart talk, your immediate future seems secure then take the opportunity at the next meeting with your boss to follow up with a ‘perceptions and expectations exchange’. At this meeting you will lay the ground for the way you communicate with each other,
particularly the tricky business of giving each other feedback.
You can start the ball rolling by suggesting ‘the exchange’ and asking your boss to give you a clear idea of what is expected of you and how he sees you working together. This done you can ask if it is OK to give him your perceptions and expectations in return.
Hopefully, you will have a good rapport by now and you will feel comfortable giving your perceptions and expectations of them. It is at this time that you might go after the parts of their job (and authority) that you want for yourself!
Go for the good as well as the bad so that they can see you are doing all this to be helpful rather than selfish. Agree trial periods of delegation (where they remains accountable) before you contemplate total devolution (where you become accountable taking the blame and the credit when due).
8. Be a collaborator, not a loner
Over a period of many years I have had the opportunity to test groundsmen and greenkeepers on their
preferred ways of working with people. In this time it has become very clear that too many of us like to be left alone to get on with the job. In doing this we get rather comfortable and do not seek enough opportunities to collaborate with others particularly those people who do not do the same type of work as we do.
Interestingly, I have observed over these many years that it is the ones who are prepared to step out of their comfort zones and collaborate with others, who now have the best working relationships with members of their management teams.
You will not be surprised to learn that they also seem to be valued more by their managers, enjoy better access to more resources and opportunities, and have been able to get on better in their careers.
9. Have Regular Line Meetings
In your ‘perceptions and expectations’ exchange (see number 7 above) you might also agree a ‘feedback’ contract with your manager. For example, some time ago as my own young work team grew more confident, they became more independent of
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