important to stop looking at your manager as the person who has the ultimate power in the workplace because all managers have flaws. You must advocate for yourself in this workplace relationship to ensure that your professional needs are met. Managing up is the process of managing your manager. While the manager may be in the position of power, managing up is key to ensure that you are an active participant in creating a mutually beneficial relationship and receiving what you need most in the workplace. If I had not asked my direct report the questions I listed, she could also have asked similar questions of me to ensure that her professional development was top of mind. She could have asked questions like:
What types of career development opportunities are available to me in this company?
Based on my past experiences and current role, what do you feel would be my next step in this company or industry?
What skills do you feel that I need to build to do my job even better?
What relationships do you feel would be helpful for me to build at this company?
Is there a required “time‐in‐role” for transitioning into my next role here?
Is there anyone you can introduce me to in your network to assist with my career exploration or development?
You are capable of initiating career conversations with your manager to ensure that you are in charge of your own personal and professional development.
Additionally, for many managers who fall into the bad or good category versus great managers, there may be something they need to see from you to help correct their negative behaviors. Unless they are ill‐equipped to be a manager and found themselves in this role through their contribution to the workforce and managing was simply a rite of passage versus a piece of their developmental journey in the workforce that they were equally excited about, change can happen. You cannot help someone who is just a “bad apple.” Just like romantic relationships, the person must want to change behaviors that hurt his or her partner. The same goes for the workplace.
When managing up, it is important to notate the specific moments when managers exhibit less desirable behaviors. A few common examples are:
When assignments are submitted and there are avoidable errors
During weekly one‐on‐ones where they desire more information
When they are stressed about presenting to their manager about the information you are responsible for submitting in advance
When they do not have enough information and must circle back to get up to speed
When they are receiving constructive feedback about their team's work by more senior leadership and your work was called out for needing improvement
Those are just a few common examples that you may be able to identify to preemptively plan to create a more favorable experience. For example, in the scenarios that allude to not having enough information, how can you share more information before it is needed? Often, managers labeled as micromanagers desire more information because they have found themselves in situations with leadership where they could not accurately share what was needed.
There are bad managers, good managers, and great managers. Great managers ensure that developing their team is a part of their professional development plan, even if it's just ensuring that their team members have a clear succession plan when they move onto other roles inside or outside the company. And bad managers are never a reason to halt your career development plan. That is the reason I wrote this book. You and only you can be responsible for your career movement or lack thereof.
If you have an amazing manager, that is incredible! You are extremely fortunate. But suppose you have a manager who gives you nightmares. Well, in that case, you will need to take an active part in finding mentors, coaches, and sponsors (see Chapter 6, “Relationships Are Still Everything”) who will provide you with the support you will need that you are currently not receiving.
Remember, a bad manager does not make or break your career. In the same way you are in any given role for a specific season of your tenure in the workplace, you will only have that manager during that season. And if the current situation is unbearable – well, that may be a sign to consider whether your next move will be to another department or external to your current company (see Chapter 12, “How to Know When It's Time to Go”).
Management is only a piece of your career and leadership development.
Your Next Move
This chapter is one of the few chapters where I would like you to simply take a moment to reflect on your current manager relationships and determine how you need to manage up and manage down to better align with your career goals. As you begin to create your career strategy in this book, how you manage yourself and others will be an element of your plan that will take careful consideration.
After spending so many years in the career development space, I have learned that it's very hard to serve as a great manager if you cannot manage your own career well. Additionally, if you have never had a great manager and have not had the opportunity to learn best practices on leading a team, it's very hard to serve as a great leader.
If you are currently a manager, once you have your own strategy in place, you will be able to manage and mobilize your team to align with your goals and the goals of the organization. You will understand not only the end goal for your team, but also how each person plays a vital part in the long‐term vision. Moreover, you'll support your team members in reaching the milestones for the team and have the strategic vision to help them create their own career development plan. Sure, you'll read this book to understand how you create your own career strategy, but great managers will be able to apply this information to empower individuals on their teams, too.
If you are an individual contributor reading this book and you don't currently manage a team, this context will help you manage your career and articulate your needs to your manager when you need to manage up. Most importantly, when the interview question comes up asking you about the type of people leader you will be, you will have the information needed to answer that question expertly.
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