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Answers to Your Questions - Managing Up

Jim DeSena, CSP

During a leadership program, it's not unusual for someone to ask, "The challenge I have isn't with the people who work for me. It's with the person I work for. How do I manage up?" Everyone who rises to a leadership position in an organization has worked for someone who is difficult to work for. Sometimes the person is difficult to work for because he or she was promoted into the job based on technical skills and may not have solid people skills. Sometimes the person may just have a different style. Sometimes the person may not realize there is a better way to manage. Here are five solutions for those situations.

1) Leaders who survive or thrive under those circumstances do several things. First, they know that the situation won't last forever. At some point, something will change. The boss will get promoted, the boss will leave, you may move to a new job. Knowing this gives you the ability to take one day at a time.

2) Ask yourself what you can learn from this person. You can learn at least one thing: what not to do. This can be highly valuable. Too often, we model ourselves after people who don't bring out the best in others. You will have the advantage of knowing what not to do. This person may also have skills or strengths that you can learn from.

3) As long as the person doesn't ask you to do anything illegal or unethical, try to put yourself in his or her shoes. Try to understand what he or she really wants. Then, despite whatever misgivings you may have about whether it is the correct decision, put your best effort behind it. If you only give it a halfhearted effort or no effort, that will be obvious and your boss will be even more displeased with your performance. Rather than head for that type of confrontation, work proactively to manage the situation.

4) If you are having a difficult time getting priorities from your boss, or you are expected to do everything or add tasks to the top of your pile without regard to what you are already working on, develop a set of priorities to present to your boss for his or her concurrence. Set priorities based on your estimate about the value the task will contribute to your organization. Use a simple numbering scheme, such as 1 is the highest value, 2 is the next highest value and so on. Show these to your boss and say that if he or she has any changes in the order of the priorities, to let you know what they are. Otherwise, you will proceed based on these priorities. You may also want to show deadlines and resource estimates for person days to complete.

5) If your estimate shows you don't have enough time by yourself to complete all your assignments and you know your boss wants them all done, develop a plan for accomplishing them by getting overtime authorized if you aren't already working it, by borrowing people, by bringing in contract personnel or interns, by developing a technology solution or by other ways that that you aren't already doing and that someone else would need to authorize.

©1999 James A. DeSena, CSP
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