Why 'Managing Up' Is Worth the Trouble

As a workplace consultant and career coach (and Gen Xer), I was thrilled to see Employee Evolution develop. I fully support the desire to change the American workplace, so I thought I'd share how I've seen 'managing up' get some new professionals heard – and ahead.

There are three rules to managing up. But before we can follow them, we must first embrace one principle: that all working professionals, even new ones, are salespeople. I realize this thought makes most people cringe, but we are all selling ourselves; our services, our ideas, and our visions for the future. Managing up is just another form of selling. I tell clients, "think of your co-workers and managers as customers." That being said, successful selling on-the-job begins with a simple concept: "Ask, don't tell."

We've all experienced a bad salesperson. You know the type, an intense individual who has all the answers and makes it a point to bombard us with every single one so we supposedly have no choice but to buy. It's such a turn off; we say to ourselves, "How dare he act like he knows exactly what I need when he doesn't even know the first thing about me." Worst still, when we balk, he acts frustrated, like we're completely inept for not immediately wanting to buy what he's selling. Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, I've seen and worked with young professionals who have unintentionally done this. They hit the work scene, complete a surface assessment, and determine what they think is wrong and should be fixed. They believe in teamwork, and so in a sincere effort to help, they start to make suggestions on how to improve things. I will also tell you that many times, their ideas are great, and with a little collaboration, could be very useful. However, great ideas can often take time to be accepted, just like a sale can take time to close. But, some young professionals find their patience running short – becoming immediately frustrated and angry when their ideas aren't acknowledged or implemented. I've even seen some get so upset that they make sweeping generalizations about their job, manager, company, and even their industry, subsequently sending them looking for a whole new career. While in some cases the decision to move on made sense, I've seen plenty of instances where the new employee didn't do their homework and left prematurely, missing out on a great opportunity to grow. From what I've seen, if we want to get older generations (a.k.a. upper management) to actually listen, make changes, incorporate our ideas, and utilize us in a more challenging capacity in the process, we need to prove to them we truly understand and respect their perspective.

At this point, you might be saying, "Why do I have to do all this work just to get my ideas heard? They should be more understanding. They are the ones who aren't being good team players." I know how frustrating it is. I also don't agree with the older generation's attitude towards us younger ones, but instead of getting mad, I really believe it's wiser to be resourceful. Here's a story to consider…

I recently worked with an executive whose management team ranged in ages of 24 to 67. I was impressed by how well they worked together and respected one another's ideas. I specifically asked him how the younger managers had gotten positions of power at their age. His answer: "I don't care about age. I simply hire managers who know how to manage me." When I asked what he meant, he replied: "I look for managers who understand how to ask me things, people who know how to communicate and build consensus. In short, I look for people who are smart enough to know how to educate me, ultimately broadening my perspective and helping me see the value of the solutions they propose." Now, you might think this CEO is a swell guy, full of compassion and understanding. Wrong. He is one of the most direct, intense executives I've ever met. He is no 'people person' and I'm sure he has scared many an employee away with his professional nature. But, the people that work for him have figured out what it takes to connect with him, and they are reaping the rewards.

In summary, I really believe managing up doesn't mean "sucking up" or even "looking up" to those in charge, it means "teaming up" with them in a way they can relate to. And that means, in some cases, being the bigger person. For those of you who are still saying, "They are the older ones, they need to do the changing," I say, you could be in for a long, lonely career progression. Managing up does more than help to overcome challenges with the older generations in the workplace, it shows the capacity to be an effective team player. Up, down, or across, managing in the workplace is every employee's job. So why not practice managing up now in preparation for leading tomorrow?

If you want to learn the three rules to managing up, click here to begin.