Managing Upward: Key to Career Success

It would be great if your career success was based purely on your performance and abilities.  The reality is that in order to be successful at work, you have to manage your boss.  I worked in a highly intense large technology corporation for 15 years which taught me a lot about managing upward.  It taught me that in order for me to be effective, I have to do a good job at managing upper management. When I manage my bosses well, they trust my decisions are aligned with their goals, they trust me to give them information so they can be prepared for the unexpected, and they trust that I am consistent in terms of what I commit to delivering or not delivering. Basically, you’re training them to trust you. Besides having good communications and the ability to overcome challenges, the ability to gain the trust of your management team will bring you increased career advancement opportunities.  If you haven’t had a chance to read my last two week’s blogs about effective mindsets to overcome challenges and communication skills, I would highly recommend you read them. You can read them here.

Tips on getting your boss trust you:

1. Communicate to your boss to ensure that she knows that you understand her goals or the team’s goals. Ask her what’s important in a particular situation and what the ultimate objectives are.
2. Manage your boss’s expectations – be reasonable with your deliverables and layout potential issues ahead of time. If the management team wants more, read #3
3. Think of your boss as a person who will give you resources to solve a problem. When your management asks for more than you think is achievable, get an alignment what’s accomplishable vs. the resource available.
4. If you foresee a problem (whether it is operational or interpersonal), inform your boss and suggest solutions on how to manage the problem.
5. Provide your input to your boss; but ultimately, your boss is the decision maker. Once she’s has decided, you need to support it.
6. Understand what makes your boss look good to her boss, upper management or the board; show that you’re on her team.
7. Lastly, no surprises! Although there’s always the unexpected in life, do your best to forecast them and inform management when appropriate. Obviously, if you’re looking to jump ship to a competitor, then that’s a different story.

If you need help implementing the above tips, or would like coaching in resolving blocks in your career,  please give me a call at 650-397-1376 or email at yeh.wendy@gmail.com. Sign up for my blogs to read my future writings on career, relationships, and personal growth.