Building a good relationship with your manager takes work. Managing up entails developing rapport and trust, communication style, decision-making, conflict management and goal-setting with higher-ups. Here are some tips for managing up:
Leave your assumptions at the door
Understand and communicate what success is for you and for your managers team
- Show your work with what matters most
- Break out of your tunnel vision
- Focus on what’s keeping your manager up at night
Hone your delivery for communication that comes through loud-and-clear
Open up about your “work love language.”
- Observe how your manager listens
- Calibrate to match your manager’s involvement
- Communicate early and often to avoid surprises
- Don’t get stuck in your ways and ignore your audience
- Lean on OKRs to make sure the message sticks
- Distinguish between communicating and vocalizing
Share your impact the right way
Think self-service
- Regularly share what you’re doing, what you plan to do, and what you’ve done with your manager
Boost your chances of hearing ‘yes’ to your ask
Start leaving a breadcrumb trail
- Create a shared understanding of the problem
- Don’t bury your requests
- Always do your homework (and the extra credit)
- Keep the lines of communication open
Build lasting rapport and trust
Start with the basics and get to know your manager on a personal level
- Get tactical with building empathy
- Know the difference between mentors and sponsors
Get comfortable with feedback (on both sides of the table)
Let positive feedback come through louder than your own doubts
- Don’t just try to please your boss
- Train your manager on how to treat you
Set the tone in your 1:1s
Create a doc to hit the most important points
- Set the tone with a new manager using these five questions
- What do you care most about and are trying to accomplish in your role?
- What are your biggest challenges?
- How would you describe my role and responsibilities?
- What are your pet peeves that I should avoid?
- Who is someone you had a great working relationship with that reported to you and why did it work so well?
- Give a bird’s eye view before zooming in
- Grade yourself on alignment
- Think through the questions you’re likely to receive on said work, and construct answers in advance
- Bring your whole self to the table
