The Office - from www.nbc.com
Communication is the key to the success of every relationship. Relationships with co-workers, family and even our friends. At work, we are often counseled to manage up. What exactly is manage up? I like to think of it as a process that keeps your manager informed by developing an effective communication relationship. Finding the right communication mix is tough and takes some open and honest conversations. You not only need to develop this relationship with your immediate supervisor, but also with any other managers you work with. This will take an initial investment of your time and energy, but will prove to be very rewarding. Here are some suggestions on how to begin this process:
- Define expectations. What do they expect out of you? What do you expect from them?
- Establish the communication process. Find out how they like to communicate. Do they like phone calls, visits in person, email – or a combination? Do they like to be copied on emails? When is the best time to catch them, early in the morning, around lunch, in the evening? What is most important about the first intake discussion is finding out what they don’t like.
- Have open and honest conversations. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback and give feedback. It only makes the relationship stronger.
- Over communicate in the beginning. Continually keep your manager in the loop on your progress and ask for feedback. Do they like this? Is it too much, is there a middle ground?
A few tips to remember:
- Everyone is different. One process may work for one manager and not another.
- You cannot change the managers style, only your style. Learning to adapt is a wonderful skill.
- You may have an effective process that suddenly stops working. Go back to the beginning and start over.
- If you get stuck and cannot develop an effective relationship, find a colleague who has one with this manager to see what worked for them.
A more effective relationship with your manager benefits everyone. I would love to hear in the comments anything that has worked for you.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic post. I love reading about managing up, because it’s still quite applicable to me as a young HR pro.
I agree that managing up is an important skill and I think you outline great ways an employee can do it in a way to build the relationship. I will say that managers should not expect their staff to “manage up” as a replacement for the manager taking responsibility and ownership. This can be an unfortunate bi-product if done too much. I’ve seen it go both ways in my career. So, the tip I would add is that managers still need to realize that their most important role is to manage DOWN.
If everyone is on the same page and there is management up and down, the relationship will be strong. If it is one-sided either way, it will not be very successful. Great topic.