Managing Up - Crucial and Critical for Career Development

How managing up is important to stay relevant to your career aspirations? No, it's not about flattering your bosses or higher management, it is about aligning your career aspirations to those of your bosses and ultimately with the organization. We often coach managers on leadership lessons to manage teams and subordinates, however, a guide for managing your seniors is just as critical for one’s career, aspirations, and success at large.

As the phrase “Managing Up” has gained popularity in recent years, it's taken on a mix of definitions. The?Harvard Business Review?defines managing up as, “Being the most effective employee you can be, creating value for your boss and your company.” HBR’s series on Managing Up sets a great perspective and learning material for professionals across career levels.

Managing up helps both the employee and the business in achieving goals. It clearly denotes the business asks and helps the employee to act in accordance with it. Understanding and working with a clear motive to achieve goals is a prerequisite of any role or KPI. Practicing the skill of managing-up can help you transition into a leadership position. When one performs and delivers what their managers need with minimal supervision, they're likely to have better relationships and work great as a team. Building a strong relationship with the immediate manager can increase one’s job satisfaction and builds confidence level resulting in a high-performance culture. When a manager can trust a team member or employee to perform with minimal supervision, they can focus their attention on other areas that benefit the business.

Nonetheless, we also know that a boss plays an important role in one’s career, and navigating this delicate and significant relationship is the key to a rewarding and satisfying career. One has to manage it without playing political games or compromising their character. Getting involved in office politics and covering up mistakes is a big NO if you intend to Manage-UP effectively. Do not attempt to manipulate and brown nose as these can ruin the good efforts in long run. To manage in the best way is by understanding your manager’s priorities, pressures, and working style. Being empathetic is a great quality, not for personal interest when you are building relations, but for the overall community. You and your manager along with peers and team members create the internal community and the team foundation is strong when each one is empathetic to others. Going the extra mile to offer help in resolving a few issues out of your KPI, proposing ideas, contributing to the team’s success more than an individual, and becoming indispensable in one’s area of expertise leads to better collaboration and win-win situations for both.

Disagreeing with grace on certain aspects and playing your part as an advisor in tricky situations is as much a great way of managing your work and seniors. A big notion amongst the freshers and people who have just started gaining experience is that reaching out to higher management and bosses is going to be hindering their work schedules, however, on the contrary, reaching out and sharing your crisp updates helps in keeping the manager/leader abreast of overall progress and your work and efforts. Part of the managing up process also involves making your progress and achievements visible. It comes with a clear and honest two-way communication channel. This could substantially lead to positive performance reviews and opportunities in the organization, including promotions and pay rises, and thus aids in career development.

There is a famous phrase that goes around: “People don’t quit a job, they quit a boss.” Absolutely, if we go the leader's course, it’s precarious to become a reliable captain in order to retain top talent on the team. But imposing all the accusations onto bad bosses when these couplings go amiss is also a generalization. Like any association, that of the manager and their direct report is a two-way street, and the task of piloting the often-jerky flight along a course falls on both. There are those managers who you instantaneously click with, falling into a rhythm as though you’ve worked together for years. Others may seem like you’re trying to force two repelling magnets together. But probably, your connection with your boss falls somewhere in between these two extremes. Thus, keeping your intentions sharply focused on goals, keeping communications clear and honest, and having a genuine interest in growth factors go a long way in managing up. Setting a positive tone for the relationship, managing expectations, and delivering on them to earn trust and respect are key.