Finding Balance and Setting Boundaries: Shifting the Narrative on Managing Up
Is your approach to managing up keeping you on the path to success—or is it silently leading you towards burnout?
Early in your career, managing up may have been a checklist of tasks: writing a succinct weekly email, preparing 1:1 agendas, and keeping your boss informed. But as you climb the corporate ladder, this transactional approach needs to evolve, and fast!
As you become a manager and then manager of managers, you see pretty quickly that managing up is not just about keeping your boss happy and informed; it’s about building a mutually beneficial relationship that—not surprisingly—requires not only meeting your boss's needs but also ensuring that your own boundaries are respected.?
How do you do that? Start by getting clear on what you expect from your boss and, just as importantly, asking them to share their expectations of you.??
It may sound simple and easy (I can attest this exercise is neither of those), but doing this work is perhaps the most import thing you can do to create a sold foundation in your working relationship with your boss.
Setting Boundaries through Clarifying Expectations and Creating Agreements
"An unarticulated expectation is a disappointment guaranteed."
I’ve written before about the slippery slope of uncommunicated expectations with team members, stakeholders, and peers, but now let’s focus on having the “Expectations Conversation” with your boss.
A few common expectations that test our boundaries:
Without clear communication, these expectations can quickly become sources of tension, uncertainty, and stress, testing your boundaries, impacting your productivity and wellbeing.?
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Here’s how these expectations might look as formal agreements that establish clear boundaries:
Taking the Lead: How to Initiate the “Expectations Conversation?”
So, where do you begin? Start by looking inward, and try this:
?1. Grab a pen and paper and write down all your expectations of your boss (Use the examples provided to kickstart your thinking).?
2. List what you believe your boss expects from you. Don’t worry about getting everything perfect—this is about starting the conversation.
3. Schedule a time to sit down with your boss, discuss and compare your notes. From there, you can create a shared document that outlines your agreements and sets up regular check-ins to review and adjust as needed.
I know that this might sound awkward or forced, but as with anything, the more you do it, the more natural and beneficial the “Expectation Conversation” becomes and you’ll find more audiences and opportunities to put it to use - be it with your bosses boss, stakeholders, team members, peers and beyond.?
Creating a Balance of Power is Up to You
Incorporating the principles of balance and boundary-setting into your agreements with your boss adds a crucial dimension to managing up.
?It ensures that while you’re committed to meeting your boss’s needs, you’re also taking care of your own, which is essential for long-term success and sustainability. So, take control, establish those boundaries, and watch your career grow.
Data Analytics Professional
5 个月?? * Disclaimer * To make sure the following is read, Inhave to disclose that NO form of Artificial Intelligence was used to write out the following text: I love this article. Maybe we need to coin a better term than management. I can sense that the sentiment towards the word “management” is quite negative. The act of doing one’s best to facilitate meaningful collaboration and harmonious workplace is just leading life with empathy. Doing all you can to enable people around you. Sometimes their success appears to supersede that of yours, it is OK. Because it meant you did great! Ok that paycheck they got is sweet too, what can you do to create your own monetary return? Now before I start singing Kumbaya ????♂???… it is not black magic. Like you mentioned in the article, there are practical and concrete ways to do that. Can I allow myself to assume that there’s a next article about Managing Sideways Kate Leto ? ??