"True Leadership: Elevating Those Who Look to You"
Renee Stark
Organizational Design & Diagnostics Consultant???? Organizational Effectiveness?? AI Enthusiast ?? Talent Development ?? Change & Transition Management?? Empathy Ambassador?? Outdoor Adventurer??? Animal Lover ??
?? The Hidden Cost of "Managing Up" ??
In today’s fast-paced corporate world, there's an increasing emphasis on "managing up" — essentially making sure your boss or higher-ups recognize your value and contributions. It’s often positioned as a necessary skill for career growth, but what happens when this mindset becomes too dominant in an organization?
When we prioritize managing up over leading down, we unintentionally create a culture where our teams feel overlooked, undervalued, and unsupported. While we focus on impressing those higher in the organization, we risk neglecting the needs, growth, and well-being of the very people who rely on us for guidance and support.
Here’s the reality: great leadership isn’t just about managing your relationship with leaders. It’s about being present for those who look to you for direction, guidance, and coaching — the ones you are responsible for.
Why Does This Matter?
1. It Undermines Trust: Teams can sense when they’re being used as stepping stones for someone else’s personal career goals. This erodes trust and loyalty.
2. It Creates Burnout: A disproportionate focus on upward visibility often results in fewer resources or recognition for the team doing the hard work. When we don’t manage the work (and the workload), it can lead to employee burnout.
3. It Diminishes Development When you’re preoccupied with managing relationships upwards, you might miss the opportunity to foster the growth and potential of your direct reports. A focus on personal advancement often means sidelining team development.
Measuring Success by Leading Down
Instead of making "managing up" the primary focus, let’s measure leadership success by how well we lead down — by how we support and nurture those who look to us for guidance. Here’s how:
领英推è
? Employee Growth Are you actively helping your team members grow their skills, overcome challenges, and reach their potential?
? Engagement Are you fostering a workplace where your team feels heard, valued, and motivated to contribute?
? Trust and Transparency Are you creating open communication channels where feedback flows freely, and everyone feels supported?
? Well-being Are you mindful of your team’s work-life balance and mental health, ensuring they don’t burn out?
Shifting the Narrative
We need to shift the leadership narrative. It’s not about how well you navigate upwards; it’s about how well you lead, support, and elevate those around you. When you prioritize your team's success over your own personal climb, everyone benefits.
Final Thought
Leadership is a responsibility, not a platform for self-promotion. Let’s make sure we’re creating environments where those who look to us for support feel empowered, valued, and inspired to do their best work.
?? Leaders, let’s make sure we’re looking after the people who are looking to us.
#Leadership #TeamDevelopment #Management #EmpathyInLeadership #Culture #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeEngagement #Back2Basics #ServantLeadership #LeadingDown #ManagingUp #LeadershipMatters
Senior strategist, employee experience & communications | Design-thinking facilitator | C-suite consultant | Strategic storyteller | Creative director | I lead groups from complexity to clarity
1 个月I completely agree that leaders should behave in a way that puts their people’s success before their own. After all, being a good leader means being someone others want to follow—as an example and as someone with a vision. But in my experience, “managing up†becomes a necessary tactic when leaders at the top create a culture of fear, competition, and self-interest. In short, managing up is a tactic for self defense when leaders are failing to paint a clear vision that helps an organization stay aligned and positive. Unfortunately, the leaders who do this are likely the least aware of the need to change (or perhaps the most resistant to it), instead stoking more internal competition. When you meet a great leader, pay attention to how they make you feel—empowered, confident, creative? That’s a signal that there’s no need to manage up. If they make you feel anxious, or cause you to second guess yourself, I’d say manage up until you can get out.
Visionary Tech Leader with a Proven Track Record in Digital Transformation, Global ERP Implementation Leadership, and Strategy Execution. ? Ex-Nike ?
1 个月I’m a strong proponent of the idea that the first priority for great leaders is their team and not their own career growth. Your post is spot on.
HP Inc.
1 个月Thank you for posting this. This is spot on!