#1: Influencing your manager's behavior
Let's imagine that you work with a team of people led by a difficult manager. Let's imagine further that you lead a subset of workers and believe that group to be quite healthy. How do you get your manager to use some of the tools you've found to be helpful?
First, you're not going to "get" your manager to do anything. You may be able to influence that person and one way is to thoroughly document the tools you have used in your subgroup and the outcomes of those efforts. Then, at an opportune time, share that information with your manager and, depending upon how resistant she may be, use multiple conversations to arrive at the point where you suggest adoption of those tools within the larger group.
What if there is a specific behavior your manager engages in that is counterproductive? Look for opportunities to affirm positive behaviors (when she gets it right) and for ways to model more appropriate behavior to and in front of that manager. When you are given the opportunity during a review to share your thoughts about her management style, carefully talk about what you have found to be most effective in motivating and helping you to grow as an employee. Of course, the worst managers will never give you this opportunity. So, read on.
#2: Influencing your manager's communication
Some managers do not provide clear direction. Lack of clarity may be a strategy designed to protect them from committing to a specific course of action. Others just don't put the effort into being clear. There are a lot of hinters out there who encourage (almost require) mind reading and that spells communication disaster.
Here's your problem. You want to seek clarification, but doing so may be annoying to your manager. You have to make a choice. Many people, reasonably enough, choose to avoid annoyance and live with the lack of clarity. Unfortunately that lack of clarity typically leads to its own annoyances - your manager, unclear as he may be, believed he had communicated his expectations to you and you failed to implement. To him, that's annoying.
My encouragement? Seek clarification, risk annoyance. "Did you ask me to do X?" "Which of these assigned tasks has priority?" "What specifically is the deadline for this project?" "Who will be the audience for this communication?" Resist hinting. Be assertive. Speak clearly and directly and draw the same out of others by asking clarifying questions as needed - even if that may be annoying to some.
#3: Knowing when influence is not possible
Now we come to the riskiest behavior. There are times when you must go above your manager to his boss. This must never be done lightly or routinely, but should be done in cases of sheer incompetence, negligence, immorality, or illegality. Everything you say must be documented - otherwise you will lose. Then when you find out that your manager's manager is in on the kickback scheme you become the hero of a whistleblowing movie, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
I had a women in a training session who kept challenging me about the difficulty of her manager. Ever strategy I offered was met with resistance and a "you just don't get it" tone. Finally I told her, "Your life sucks. You've got a terrible manager and you have two choices: Wait him out and hope he moves on, or find another position." Sometimes there really isn't much that can be done.
Regardless of scenario, you must commit yourself to becoming the manager you wished you had.
It's easy to know what others should do better, it's more difficult to do the work so that we manage well.
FOUR principles for "managing up":
- Model and support positive behaviors and the use of effective tools.
- Seek clarity - risk annoyance.
- Know when you cannot influence and must survive or escape.
- Quit complaining. Become the manager you wish you had so that one day you can be the manager others need and will appreciate.
At Julian Consulting we work with you to manage well (up or down the org chart). Call us TODAY for assistance in achieving those objectives.
