It’s tough to manage upwards, but we have to do it anyway

IN 1980, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) published an essay by Professors John J Gabarro and John P Kotter from Harvard Business School, titled Managing Your Boss. More than two decades later, in 2005, the same essay was published on HBR’s website.

In more recent times, a certain struggling employee – such as yours truly – would find a copy of it in hand, courtesy of a work mentor.

“Have I shared this with you before?” he asked, on the back of yet another unhappy workplace incident I shared with him.

After reading the essay, I understood why it has become a management classic and a staple of MBA programme study, with its “simple yet powerful advice”, per a preface in the 2005 presentation.

Managing upwards is far from a new concept, but if you’re a few years into your career, you’re likely to understand that even after you start managing your own people, you still need to be able to manage your boss well to succeed. In fact, I would argue it becomes even more important to do so when you’re in between layers in an organisation.

The question is, how does one do this well? It’s not as straightforward as flattery and bootlicking; most of us would vastly prefer not to have to do this either, by my reckoning.

Having been a manager before, I personally find it easier to manage downwards than upwards, perhaps because the latter involves a lot of people-reading – something I’m still trying to do better after more than a decade of work.

Here are some very compelling takeaways from Managing Your Boss:

The boss-staff relationship involves mutual dependence between two fallible human beings

Profs Gabarro and Kotter make the point that superiors and staff members depend on each other to succeed at their respective jobs.

A subordinate needs help, resources, and information from his/her boss to do the job well, especially in linking up with the rest of the organisation and making sure priorities are aligned with those of the company.

The authors advise, in short, that the most effective subordinate:

• Builds a good understanding of himself/herself and his/her boss, in the areas of strengths, weaknesses, working styles, and needs; and
• Uses the information gathered to develop and manage a healthy working relationship that accommodate both parties’ working styles and strengths.

Of course, this is easy to say. But how does one build this understanding? For a start, Profs Gabarro and Kotter provide these helpful questions:

• What are your boss’ organisational and personal objectives?
• What are your boss’ pressures – from their own boss and from others at the same level?
• What is your boss good at; what are his/her blind spots?
• What is your boss’ preferred style of working – does he/she prefer receiving memos, formal meetings or phone calls for updates?
• How does your boss handle conflict – does he/she thrive on it, or make every effort to minimise it?

I, for one, wish I could simply hand my boss a survey at the beginning of our working relationship to take the guesswork out of this challenge. But alas, the bosses I’ve worked with did not – and would not – have time for this.

Here’s the real-world thing to do instead: be alert for chances to question your boss and others around them, to test their assumptions, and pay attention to clues in their behaviour. And, the professors advise, this shouldn’t only be done once, but from time to time, because priorities do shift.

Make yourself easier to work with

Another tricky task: Understanding aspects about yourself that make it easier or more difficult to work with your boss. Once you have a good grasp of this, you’ll be better able to take steps to make your working relationship with your boss more effective.

Profs Gabarro and Kotter discuss counter-dependence and overdependence, two extremes of a subordinate’s tendencies with respect to his/her boss in response to frustration when the superior constrains his/her actions or options.

A staffer who resents the boss’ authority, rebels against the decisions, and even subconsciously escalates conflict for the sake of fighting has a tendency towards counter-dependence. A boss who observes this subordinate’s latent hostility will lose trust in the employee, as well as his/her judgement, and draw away further from the staff, making the relationship even more strained.

Those who are overdependent swallow their anger and become compliant even when the bosses make what they know to be a poor decision. Overdependent subordinates also see their superiors as an all-wise parent who should know best.

Understanding where we as subordinates fall on this spectrum of dependence on our bosses will help us to predict how we might respond to certain situations, and then work out the implications of our tendencies and how to translate them to our dealings with our bosses.

Be clear what your boss’ expectations are

If you’re lucky, you get a supervisor who communicates his/her expectations very explicitly. Most of us aren’t so fortunate, but the onus is still on us to ensure we know what they are.

The authors share a few ideas on how you can do this:

• Drafting a detailed note covering the main aspects of the work you need to do, and then going over each item with your boss in a face-to-face meeting;
• Initiate an ongoing series of informal discussions about good management and “our objectives”; and
• Chatting with people who used to work for the same boss.

Feed your boss the information he/she needs

Bosses usually need more information than a subordinate provides, Profs Gabarro and Kotter note, so it’s important to keep them informed in ways that fit their working styles.

Some bosses have difficulty hearing about problems, but that shouldn’t stop you from finding indirect paths to deliver the information – perhaps, for instance, using a management information system, or conveying anticipated obstacles to them early on.

Another point that flows from this is making meaningful use of your boss’ time. Avoid using up your credibility and your boss’ time on trivial issues, as every request you make of your boss draws on their limited resources.

Finally…

Be dependable and reliable

Commit to targets and deadlines you can attain and meet. Profs Gabarro and Kotter write in no uncertain terms that few things are more disabling than a subordinate who cannot be depended upon, and whose work cannot be trusted.

They suggest it may even be better to deliver fewer strong successes in favour of being more consistent in meeting deadlines and commitments.

Managing upwards is a skill I believe takes time to build up, and comes more easily to some than others.

Undoubtedly, though, I’ve learned that getting this right is a valid part of my work, and mastering it will put me in a stronger position to navigate not just my job, but also my career.