Managing Up

If you are like most people, when you think about the everyday meaning of the word manage you are usually referring to a manager dealing with a subordinate. But a subordinate can certainly influence his or her image among the higher-ups by using some common sense suggestions and by following some strict rules. It’s called “Managing Up.”

For example, use some of the politicking embraced by people in entertainment and politics to enhance their images:

1. Be visible. Be seen lunching, socializing, and talking to higher level and important people.
2. Be an active community citizen. Volunteer your services to some highly visible charities, either through your work or in appropriate activities, where you will be seen by people above you. This shows high energy and a good community image. These are the kind of things that many senior corporate executives notice.
3. Get published. Write a forward-looking article on your area of expertise and have it published in a trade or professional journal. Make sure those higher-ups get a copy.
4. Be a newspaper columnist. Try writing a regular bi-weekly or monthly feature for your local newspaper. Local newspapers are always looking for interesting materials.
5. Write for the company newsletter. If you are a professional with some interesting ideas that appeal to the average person, try writing a regular article or column for the company newsletter, if there is one. If there is no company newsletter, get permission to start one.

CASE STUDY # 1:
A young (25 year old) accounting supervisor for a division of a large tobacco company, started writing staff relationship articles for her company’s divisional newsletter. She had no formal education in public relations, but she had a natural ability that caught the eye of the chairman of the board. He followed her articles for 2 years, at which time the corporate head of public relations quit. Guess what? The 27-year old accounting supervisor got the job of Director of Public Relations for that Fortune 100 Company. (A true story.)

By now, you get the idea. Try to keep yourself seen in a positive light by your manager and other higher-ups in your company. It will improve your image and keep you in line for the next series of promotions.

But you must follow the rules to keep yourself from getting into trouble with the higher-ups. Here are some simple rules you should follow.

1. Avoid notoriety. Stay away from activist demonstrations and questionable locations where you might get on the wrong end of a news camera.
2. Never drink alcoholic beverages at lunchtime on a workday. Even if the boss does so, don’t be tempted. If you drive a company owned vehicle, for any reason, never consume alcohol before driving because the legal risks, particularly if you kill someone, extend to the company. Most companies will terminate an employee who drinks and drives a company vehicle.

CASE STUDY # 2:
I met a young man who went to lunch with his boss and matched the bosses 5 beers during lunch. When the boss returned to the office he told the personnel manager to put a note in the young man’s file that he had a drinking problem. That young man got passed over several times for promotions until he discovered the note in his file. He did not have a drinking problem, just the misguided notion that when out with the boss, do as the boss does. (True story).

3. Always be available for overtime. Cancel whatever you have planned: the job comes first. That is the essential image that you must convey to the people above you; job first, family and friends second. When you reach your desired level in the hierarchy, then and only then can you afford to ease off a little.
4. Never submit reports with errors in them. Always double check your information. Nothing is more self-destructive than incorrect reporting.
5. Always be on time or early with accurate reports. Nothing bugs a senior executive more than late reports.
6. Never upstage your boss in the presence of other people unless your boss asks you to tell something that you have both agreed to previously.

CASE STUDY # 3:
A young man was in a corporate meeting with his boss. The chairman asked the young man’s boss a question, the boss didn’t know the answer, but the young man did and he volunteered the answer. That was the beginning of the end for that young man. Four months later he was fired. Under those circumstances he should have remained silent, unless his boss asked him for an answer.

7. Always be punctual, particularly in the mornings. Most bosses are very observant in the mornings. If you have a tendency to be tardy the boss will notice. It always seems to happen when you are running late: the boss wants some information and you are not in yet, which gives your boss the feeling that you are unreliable. If your boss comes in early, it’s a good practice for you to do the same thing.

If you want to be in line for the next series of promotions, you must follow the above rules, otherwise you will most surely be passed over.

Even though you keep your nose clean and follow these rules, there are some specific things you can do to increase your chances of promotion.

When the person above you gets promoted into his or her bosses position and in the past he/she has relied on you for excellent, dedicated support, you will probably be chosen to fill his/her old job. It’s called natural succession planning. Therefore, it follows that the rules for future promotion involve a great deal of hard work and dedication to your supervisor. It’s all part of Managing Up.

So here are some attributes that you should strive for with your manager.

1. Absolute reliability. Your boss usually makes it obvious to his/her superiors if you are reliable.
2. Always gets the job done. You need to have a reputation that sounds something like this: “If you want to sure it gets done, ask (your name).”
3. Technically excellent. An occasional mistake is O.K., but if you embarrass or annoy your boss or others with mistakes, then you are reliant on political skills for promotion which is shaky ground.
4. Political neutrality. Never display political one-upmanship with anyone in the organization. Nobody wants to risk being stabbed in the back, least of all by a subordinate that he/she has promoted.
5. Interpersonal skills. Read our publication on Interpersonal Skills in Business for some suggestions on improving your interpersonal skills. (See resource box).

It’s important that you consistently demonstrate to your current manager that you have what it takes to take over his job when he is promoted. He/she will then naturally recommend you for promotion into his job.

Here are some tips for newly appointed managers and executives for succeeding in your new position.

The most common scenario is that a new executive is hired for a newly created position. The individual is given a mission or broad based goal and then forgotten by the superior (supervisor). Attempts to communicate with the supervisor are ignored, or the response is one of disinterest. So how do you manage up in this situation?

This is the signal to become entrepreneurial. Simply go out and do whatever it takes to satisfy the mission or achieve the goal. The individual will be expected to start from square one and do the job.

Therefore:

1. Plan carefully
2. Network
3. Organize the process
4. Setup the controls
5. Manage the results
6. Invite the supervisor to a celebration of success.

During this managing-up process you must utilize all of the other skills that you have. It can be a risky business, for example:

• You have to assume responsibilities
• Write your own job description
• Define your strategies
• Use your interpersonal skills to the maximum
• Control your spending and be ready to justify expenditures

MOST IMPORTANT:

As you do each of these things, keep you boss informed by subject reports or by overall reporting on a monthly or weekly basis.

If you are good at what you do make sure everyone, including the boss, knows it.

We hope you have learned from this article that in order to be first in line for the next series of promotions, you need to manage up. Make sure to promote your image with your higher-ups. Keep out of trouble with your manager. Prepare yourself for taking over your manager’s job when he/she gets promoted. Finally, use all your managerial skills to succeed when you do get promoted into that management job.

Copyright (c) 2003 All Rights Reserved by Institute of Management Studies.
Kempton Smith and Michael Williams help people managing people achieve excellence in management. Visit their web site http://www.instituteofmanagementstudies.com for more articles and management training resources.