Interview with Greg Forte, President of Innova Creative Training Solutions, a skilled Trainer, Teacher & Motivator. He has over 16 years of experience working for multinational companies and for non-profit sector. He has conducted training for numerous fortune 500 companies including: The Discovery Channel, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, Black and Decker, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Citibank, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Mr. Forte has worked in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. He has held a number of corporate positions in sales, marketing, training and general management.

 We are Ultimatley in Control of Our Own Careers

As a general rule, while the manager is responsible for mentoring and leading the team, I advise employees to be pro-active in finding ways to adapt to the managers style. For example, if a manager is very “hands-off,” and the employee desires more contact, he should purposefully create opportunities for interaction, rather than waiting for the manager to come to him.

 In most cases, the employee will be more successful in building a good working relationship with the boss by adapting to their style than by hoping they will change. 

I would actually say that, employees cannot afford not to managage upward. After all is said and done we are ultimatley in control of our own careers. It’s true that just about everyone will have at least one inept or mean spirited manager in their career. I had the pleasure of having the two of them.  But, I believe that the “bad manager” is more of an exception than a rule. I think most leaders are striving to be successful in managing people, regardless of their ulterior motives. If that’s the case, then they will be open to most overtures from their employess in the interest of harmony and team synergy.  The one caveat here is that the persons truly “manage upward” in a strategic sense, not just political manuvering, or what academics call “apple polishing.”

The Steps of Managing Upward

Managing upward depends on many variables, including where you are currently in the process and what the culture of the company and/or country is.  Let’s assume that you are starting a job with a new boss, so you are at step one.

1. Do some research on your new manager’s style, priorities, tendencies.  One of the best sources of that information are those who have worked for him before.
2. Request a meeting with your manager and prepare questions for them that show your interest in determining what the mutual working goals and expectations are and how best to tactically accomplish them. It is also important to discuss and clarify communication preferences regarding modality and frequency (for example, should you speak each week by phone, in person, or does the boss prefer e-mail communication).
3. Post meeting, try to put together an action plan that details how to best work with your boss.
4. Make necessary adjustments in your plan as you begin to acertain your managers style and how to best adapt in different scenarios – this is a fluid process that should be subject to continous refinement.

The Ease, Depth and Overall Existence of Managing Upward Will Be Profoundly Affected by the Organizational Culture

Clearly, a large monolithic and hierarchial company will be a more difficult environment to create and sustain such a culture than a more streamlined and nimble organization. So, virtually anyone, in any orgnization can have a great impact, at the very least, in manging upward within their own reporting structure.

That said, there are still a variety of ways to practice upward management principles. Of course,  each individual case is different, but let me suggest some very sound  upward management “rules” that virtually any boss, anywhere would appreciate:

• Keep the boss regularly informed; they don’t like surprises
• Don’t deadline your manager. Yes, it’s been done to you, but leaders appreciate time to think
• Only bring matters that you really can’t resolve. Anything else will just go back to you
• Don’t leave out the bad points because you want to look good: tell them it all
• Give me at least three options for every problem. I prefer to choose and it’s quicker
• Do your homework before you come; I don’t want you to have to go away and look something up
• Remember that this is how you’ll want your staff to report to you when you’re in my position!

What If You are the Only “Upward Manager” in Your Team?

I think that you could use this to your advantage. Just as is the case when similar products are marketed and need differentiation to stand out, this could be one of the “points of differentiation.”  There is a lot           of talk in corporate life about creating a “personal brand,” in other words you, your talents, abilities, education make up your “brand.”  On a team that is reticent to engage in this kind of two-way mutually beneficial partnership with management, you could really make your mark by managing upward. 

Of course, the reality is that if your company has a strict, rigid hierarchal culture it will be significantly more difficult to engage in upward management on your own.

Is Upward Management Dangerous to Organizations?

There is an underlying assumption here that the upward and downward management cannot co-exist and that is not the case, in theory or practice. This is very much a discussion about leadership vs. management. Leaders that encourage, or at the very least allow their employees to engage in managing upward behaviors with them, are much more likely to gain the respect and loyalty of their people – and consequently they will get more out of their teams and morale will be higher. That is the essence of true leadership to get people to do what you believe needs to get done, without force or compulsion. It is infinitely more effective in the long run to influence than it is to force – whether up, down or sideways!                     

The other factor here to consider is whether or not this practice of managing upward is a company wide program, or somethong left to each individual to work out with their respective leader. If you do not have buy in at the highest levels, then indeed it could be a source of real conflict within an organization.        

Are there Specific Industries that are More Liable to Practicing a Good Upward Management?

I have not seen any really compelling trends that indicate the above. I think the more compelling correlation is between managing upward and customer-centric companies. Those organizations that are committed to “getting it right” for the customer, and who are obsessive about driving “customer touch points” must be in touch with and allow empowerment of their people from top to bottom (re: Google, Samsung, Southwest Airlines).

The Winners and Losers in the Upward Management Battelfield

The examples of companies that have been hurt by ignoring this management principle are more glaring.  Enron is a fairly recent example. Dr. Pam Erhart, a management consultant and organizational psychologist said the following regarding one of the major causes of Enron’s downfall “(they needed to) build communication systems. In this day and age of information technology you can’t communicate enough. Use town hall meetings, teleconferences, brown bag lunches, etc. to create avenues for upward and downward communication. To keep the lines of communication open and break down the barriers between management layers as well as departments, leaders must be mindful of the need to explore others’ perceptions, ideas, and opinions”.   

Perhaps one of the more publicized companies exhibits sound upward management principles is Apple Computers.  It is widely reported that CEO and founder Steve Jobs has on his business card as his title “good listener.” That tells you all you need to know about that organizations commitment to communication, up, down and laterally.

To Conclude With

Managing upward is not:

• Poltical manuvering
• Doing your manager’s work for them
• Trying to change your bosses style
• Going over your manager’s head to get things done
• “Sheilding” your manager from problems and issues

Managing upward is:

• Desiring to build relationships of trust upward
• Trying to truly understand the manager’s perspective
• Determining and making an effort to adapt to your bosses style
• Selling your ideas and needs
• Being transparent with negative communication scenarios (missed dealines, over budget, etc.)
• Ultimately, managing upward is best described by John Kotter of the Harvard University Business School in the following manner:  

              “[managing upward] is the process of consciously working with your superior 

                to obtain the best possible results for you, your

               boss, and the company”, John J. Gabarro