Managing Up
As I was trying to write this newsletter and going through what I had done during the week.
Writing is always tricky in front of the proverbial "blank canvas." And this week had been a bit over the everyday stress. So I was still finding the ground while writing this.
This week I've been rethinking what I work on first because I let myself be swayed by the urgent things instead of correctly prioritizing or delegating.
While working through some programs that have problems and require both escalations and doing a bit of convincing and storytelling, I thought this week's issue might be a good outlet for my thoughts around managing up.
https://twitter.com/Jenyangwong/status/1559620168417943553
What is managing up?
I interpret it as having a healthy (and successful) relationship with your manager by using "managerial techniques" to be effective at your work.
How do I manage up?
I clearly define expectations whenever I start engaging in a new program or with a new team. Due to my role as an architect, I tend to spread too thin across multiple organizational programs and domains. It's easy to lose track or to get overwhelmed.
I actively keep a "high bandwidth" conversation between my and skip level managers.
This conversation has multiple purposes:
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Managing expectations, what/where is work getting done.
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Situational awareness and heads-up in case an escalation is inevitable
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Visibility into what I'm working on and what appears as urgent
It also gives them visibility and makes them become my advocates in case other work streams might find my presence helpful, or if a topic that's within my interests comes up, they would suggest having me as part of a working group, etc.
I like sending a weekly email where my priorities of the past week become more apparent, and "calibration" or asks can come from them.
"Why has this become a priority this week?" or "Why was this other thing not a priority?"
Perhaps I worked on it, but it wasn't a large enough chunk of my time to be within my priorities list.
These emails are also bcc to my peers within the org to share knowledge and understanding of how I'm working with their teams, especially for line managers.
What do we win out of this whole thing?
It seems like a lot of effort trying to manage your manager! But in the end, I feel it works both ways.
They get a constant stream of information, from the status of programs and projects to understanding if plans have to be altered in some manner. They can help me further prioritize work and the organization's needs.
I become more independent because they trust that I'm reporting what I work on and that it's aligned with the overall goals.
I get advocates of my work or for my inclusion in new things within my areas of interest for my growth area.
Certain things are general tasks you want to do for managing up, regardless of who your manager is, but they might need to add or remove certain things if your manager is a line manager, director, VP, etc.
Let me know what you do to manage up! Or even if you do it, or not? And why?
Happy coding!
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