One of the best tools you can learn in this game is to train yourself to “manage up” the same way you “manage down.” Explanation needed.
The benefit of being a staffer before graduating to elected official was that I was lucky to be treated well by some bosses and mistreated by other bosses and senior staffers, those collective experiences served to provide me a guidepost of how to manage talent. It also provided me with a lifetime template of how I would forever treat others when I became the boss and decision maker.
Given my four decades of working in this industry I can speak out with some certainty and some authority. Managing up to a superior or boss is easy, the boss is the boss, and it is easy and necessary to be on your best behavior with the one who signs the paycheck. Let me add that the age-old mantra about the boss always being right is not entirely true. To properly serve the boss and manage up, you need to forewarn the boss of potential issues that are around the corner. Just being a “yes” person doesn’t help anyone and sooner or later will come back to hurt the principal.
So while we remain attentive, engaged, positive, and well-mannered with the boss, how about managing down?
How do the bosses or senior advisors manage subordinates or less senior employees?
I have witnessed far too many bosses rage and act out as they manage down poorly. They hate being told “no,” or being told that they are wrong on an issue. Shouldn’t superiors manage down in the same manner as managing up to his or her boss?
Throughout my life I’ve been on the bottom rung and top rung in an organization and I watched how folks all along the organization chart treat others – a fascinating case study in human psychology. This perspective confirmed what I was taught long ago, that you need to treat the person cleaning the bathrooms with the same grace and respect as you treat the CEO.
It is tragic that so many who were poorly managed and then elevated up to the boss continue the cycle of abusive management. You know what they say about a little power.
I used to be puzzled when I would get reports from staffers or subordinates as they talked about less than respectful or professional interactions with superiors that I have long admired.
It soon became apparent that these professionals suffered from a failed dual personality. They manage up with one personality and manage down with a very different one. Not a great look.
The lesson today is a simple one (you would think): treat everyone with respect and manage down in the same classy and considerate way that you manage up to a boss. It benefits everyone in the long run.