Managing up..

..Is something that most of us have to do, throughout our career.

Managing expectation and influencing, are the critical skills that typically come to mind here. I have touched on the importance of influencing in particular, in a number of posts. Think about how much time we spend encouraging and bringing others, along on the journey.

On a topic, a little more complex. How to manage up, when you have a challenging leader.

They may be a micro manager or "control freak" as often referred to. They may be "scattered" and constantly changing direction.

They may be lacking in confidence and easily swayed by a strong voice in the team, regardless of whether good or bad, for the business.

It may be someone who is too busy "doing" and not leading or providing direction.

I have had many different types of leaders over the years, experiencing a number of the styles referred to above. In my early leadership years, I am also quite sure, that I crossed into one or two of these areas myself. The last statement sounds very familiar - a story for another day! Being micro-managed tends to be a common complaint and therefore, is a good place to start. How might you tackle changing the dynamic, of this very frustrating relationship?

You will likely need to try a few different approaches, before you find the one that works for you and the particular situation. Some recommendations are;

• Step back and think about your interactions and meetings. Are there any triggers points or situations you can see, that result in this behaviour? Does it appear to be just you, or is it the same for your colleagues? Does it appear to be based on the way information is presented? How are you communicating? If it feels like it is just you, how are your colleagues interacting with him/her? What are they doing differently? Observe different situations with an objective view. It's not about changing who you are, however if you need to adjust your approach to interaction, for a better outcome, then do it.
  

• Think about your style of working. Do you work autonomously and never ask for feedback or involvement? Just getting on with things is great, however in the absence of information along the way, how will he/she know? Have you missed deadlines previously? Remember, your leader has the ultimate accountability, for whatever you are working on and will also be reporting up.
  

• Offer to provide a weekly dashboard style briefing, where you can talk through all of the key things you are working on, including status. This should be your meeting and invitation if possible. At the outset or conclusion of each meeting, reconfirm that you will always, raise any issues or concerns. If you are using a RAG status style update, it goes without saying, never going into this weekly update with a “surprise” red status on anything. Ideally with this regular flow of update, those frequent disruptive check in calls will reduce or stop.
  

• Ask for feedback. Are there any areas they see for development?. Ask about your communication style and is there are different way they would like you to interact or provide information?. Based on where the conversation goes, there may be an opportunity to raise that you sense they are not confident in certain aspects of your work. Ideally this will lead to a much needed conversation and solution.

I am quite sure that in many cases, people have no idea that they micro manage, nor the impact this is having. It may just take time to build a trusted relationship and you reach a balanced way of working.

You may not be able to influence any change and just decide this is untenable and look for another opportunity.

Just make sure you have looked inward at your own style and have tried to make this a better working relationship. You might actually be the catalyst for helping someone change an unknown behaviour, for the better.

As I mentioned, over the years, as your experience grows, it does become easier, however the earlier you can focus on these influencing skills, the better.

As you move up your career ladder, remember how it feels to be micro managed. Have your own triggers to ensure it is a behaviour, you do not unintentionally, develop yourself.

Until next time

Lisa