How to Manage Up
To stay mobile in your career, you need to learn how to "manage up." You should learn how to keep a thumb on your boss -- figuratively speaking, of course -- so you can stay ahead in your job and get what you want out of your manager.
In their book Working With You Is Killing Me, Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster offer the following tips on how to "manage up":
The Five Pivotal Practices of Managing Up
- Train your boss to meet with you regularly.
- Come to every meeting with a detailed agenda.
- Keep a pulse on your boss's changing priorities.
- Anticipate problems and offer solutions.
- Always be prepared to give a status report on your projects.
The High Five of Managing Up
- Be on time or early for the start of your day.
- Be a gatekeeper and keep away unwanted time-eaters.
- Create systems so others can find things when you're not around.
- Keep confidential information where it belongs.
- Underpromise and overdeliver.
Have you learned how to "manage up?" Please share your tips and techniques here!