Managing upwards – getting the most from your boss

I have had  a number of personal experiences of being managed badly, but that’s not surprising in the long career I have survived ! What do I mean by being managed badly – well to me it’s being under used, rather than overworked.

I remember seeing a comment on my personnel file as I left a company after 20 years of varied service in a series of fantastic roles. It said ” mark has an unorthodox approach to authority and is one of the most difficult but talented people i have managed”.  I can live with that as a company epitaph.

I have had bosses who want the ideas but don’t want to share the credit when they are implemented. For a short time this can be endured, but it always leads to dissatisfaction in the long term.  I have had bosses who are not as smart as I am, and doing things that are plain wrong, but won’t or can’t hear alternatives. This is again a problem in the longer term, as you are working on things that are fundamentally wrong – and your advice has not been taken or heard.

As employees we need to be heard, not always agreed with but also not always dismissed as disloyal. What is the point in having staff and not using their collective or individual skills to get a good result.The  positive deviants we rave about in the book are not going to be easy to manage, if they were they would not be so valuable to the organization.

Why the post on managing upwards? – well it seems there are a lot of people I meet in conferences  that are in similar positions to myself in my early career. They want to do well, show initiative and challenge things in a positive way but their efforts are either hijacked or rebuffed.  In some cases this can just  be mildly annoying in others the trigger to leave the organization.  So what can you do in a situation where the boss is not getting the best from you and maybe taking more than is fair?

Perception is reality – and reality is what you can get away with.  This stolen quote is a fantastic summary of how I feel about being managed by others.  I am arrogant enough to know when I am right and when I have a skill or experience that is useful to the organization. I am also humble enough to know I cannot change other people at will to be more like a boss I would admire.  So I change the perception of the relationship – I manage them, in my mind, and they work for me.  This change in perception, if you are smart, can change the whole working relationship. I play the game by my rules – getting the pet projects I want into the agenda of the boss, whether they credit me or not.  In  this way I know who is in control, and let’s face it if they had really good ideas we would probably support them, but in the absence of their own, let them have ours free. But also let’s not forget – they need us to help implement.

Also, use the experience to build your own CV and create a valuable proposition for others to seek your employment.  People leave people – you don’t leave businesses – no one ever left MicroSoft or Nestle – they left poor bosses or people who didn’t manage the talent in front of them.

Managing the boss is a art – but one that anyone can learn.  Be clear about the commitments you are going to deliver and extract a price for delivery that is meaningful and worthwhile to you.  Search this blog or read the books section on commitments and you will realize the power of negotiation when you have all the ideas.

Remember – the person who knows how will always have a job. The person who knows why will always be his boss.

Now you know why being smart is a good thing and that not being able to manage you is the bosses problem not yours.