Managing Up: Engaging your supervisor in productive waysPresented by: Jennifer Gould, M.B.A.

Joshua Hettrick, Ed.D.

NEACUHO Fall Drive-In, October 5, 2012

Managing Up

“Managing up is the process of consciously working with your boss to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss, and your organization. This is not a political maneuver or kissing up. Rather it is a deliberate effort to bring understanding and cooperation to a relationship between individuals who often have different perspectives.”

~Thomas Zuber & Erica James

Isn’t this manipulation?

No! It’s a way to create a win-win-win situation (the people, the organization and the project at hand!).

Failure to manage the boss can result in misunderstandings and wasted time and effort.

Don’t forget to manage down as well-only managing the boss and paying no attention to the staff team can result in looking a little bit like a suck-up! (And none of us want that!)

Things to consider when Managing Up

Communication

No surprises

Providing solutions, not problems

Be honest and trustworthy

Be loyal and committed

Understand your boss’ perspective and agenda

Understand your supervisor’s preferences

Understand your own management style

Be aware of your boss’ strengths and weaknesses

Know the hot buttons

Request Feedback

Don’t go over your boss’ head

Communicate

You know this is a two-way street!

Good communication skills are the basis for success in almost every situation.

Brush up all of the skills-verbal and written (and know which way your supervisor likes to get things). Readers will prefer notes or emails before hearing you say

things to give them time to digest

Listeners often need to hear the information before consuming the written version

If you want to be heard, make it easy by using your supervisor’s preferred method

Ask questions to understand wants and decisions

No Surprises!

No, not even the good ones. Those can backfire on you too!

Keep your supervisor in the loop regularly about what is going on with specific projects and the staff team Stop by the office daily

Send regular email updates if you can’t connect in person

Use your scheduled one-on-ones and office hours effectively to discuss important issues

Provide Solutions, Not Problems

Yes, problems will happen, they always do…

When letting your supervisor know about something that’s gone wrong, be ready to propose at least 2-3 solutions to go with it

It’s okay to push an issue-some of us like to avoid problems, but they’ll need to be confronted in the end, so help with that.

Be Honest and Trustworthy

Things that will hurt you: dishonesty, covering up problems or failures, sweeping issues under the rug

The truth will come out eventually, and unlike a fine wine, it doesn’t get any better with age!

Maintain your honesty and dependability by honoring your commitments, project schedules and constraints

Be Loyal and Committed

Loyalty and commitment shows support

This extends beyond your supervisor…think about your hall staff, maintenance staff, central staff, etc

If you don’t demonstrate these things to a boss, don’t expect them in return (not a good place to be!)

Understand your Boss’s Perspective and Agenda

Put yourself in his shoes and align your priorities

Many people think they understand the boss’s goals and pressures, but don’t always understand strengths, weaknesses, aspirations or work styles, or the constraints they are under

Explore these things to help identify commonalities and gain insight on how to better interact effectively

Understand your Supervisor’s Preferences

…and try to conform to them!

Does your supervisor want a daily update? To get the big picture and not the details?

Use tact when suggesting different methods for completing tasks

Don’t assume you know what your boss wants-ask questions if you’re unsure to clarify his/her needs and expectations

Don’t set standards for yourself that you can’t consistently meet

Understand your own management style

…and take responsibility for it’s effect on others

Recognize your own strengths, weaknesses, goals and personal needs; how you respond to being managed; how others respond to you

Know the effect you have on others and how they react to you (especially your staff)

Be Aware of your Boss’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Use your boss’s strengths to your advantage! Go to your supervisor for his/her expertise.

Compensate for the weaknesses. Nobody is good at everything-provide support in those areas

Chances are you won’t be great and terrible at all of the same things, so find ways to work as a team to get things achieved

Know the Hot Buttons

What are your supervisor’s triggers and pet peeves?

Find out what these things are and avoid them!

Ignoring items that are hot buttons for your supervisor will likely sour your relationship and can lead to unsuccessful projects or negative evaluations.

Request Feedback

And learn to accept the feedback that you request

Ask periodically if you aren’t sure how you’re doing-don’t wait until end of semester evaluations

If you get negative feedback, discuss concerns, but do so maturely, not emotionally or confrontationally

Listen to what is being said and act on it appropriately

Don’t Go Over the Boss’s Head

Don’t go behind the boss’s back either

Go to your supervisor first with any concerns-you’d want the same courtesy

IF something is VERY serious and not being addressed, or if you supervisor IS the problem and can’t be confronted, go up the chain

If you do need to go over the supervisor, keep the information as private as possible, discussing only with people that need to know and be willing to document what you are reporting

Case Study

Your department is currently in the process of collecting spring intention forms from students in the residence halls. This form is completed by all students in housing during the fall semester to determine if they will be returning to housing for the spring semester. The due date for these forms to be turned in to the Assistant Director for Housing is Monday, October 8th. It is now Thursday, October 11th. The Director of Residential Life is waiting for results to pass on to the VP of Student Affairs so he is prepared for his cabinet meeting. The ADH realized late Wednesday that an entire section was missing from one of the halls. The RA in the section has already been given a written warning for paperwork this semester by their RD. The Assistant Director for Staff Development who supervises the RD and RA staff has been made aware of the problem as well. Placing yourself in this situation based on your current role, what is the process you take to help bring a resolution to this problem?

Managing up sounds simple, but managers, and everyone else

need to learn this basic concept. If we want someone to

understand what we have to say, we must learn to speak their

language, rather than expecting them to learn ours.

~Richard L. Knowdell

Building a Career Development Program: Nine Steps for Effective Implementation

Resources

Turk, W., (2007). The art of managing up. Defense AT&L, March & April, 2007.