Career Control: The Art of Managing Up

What would our working lives be like if promotions came easy and career development managed itself? While a continual uptick in financial compensation always helps with life, the reward for progression really comes from the accomplishment and its recognition. Ultimately, the onus lies with you to develop your career, which means grasping control of the controllable. This begins with understanding your boss, your senior peers and stakeholders and learning how to manage up.

This is not an exhaustive list of character types, but a selection of our favourites, (that we will all recognise) and how you can start the process of influencing and managing each of them;

The Micro Manager

Micro Managers love to be involved. In everything. Regularly. They are there in the morning ready to check in, they are ready for an update as soon as they’ve hit send on that email. They are efficient, they are unrelenting.

Managing the Micro Manager

Get in there early and get some time with them before the day gets going. Plan your day with them, discuss the key hurdles, goals, priorities and agree on some deadlines. Doing so will allow you to manage their expectations in advance and at the same time, give them the confidence that the key items are in hand and under control. In return, you’ll have built yourself some breathing space and more control over your agenda for the day.

Communication, as always is key. Keep them updated with your progress throughout the day. The more that you can answer the question before it is asked, the more trust will be built into your relationship. With time, you’ll be relied on rather than checked on.

The Whirlwind

Whirlwinds are a surge of energy, with unbound enthusiasm and the ability to communicate a multitude of different ideas in a single breath. In, downloaded and out again before you’ve had an opportunity to register their arrival.

Harnessing the Whirlwind

Whirlwinds are not to be feared but require confidence and resilience with a deep foundation to be fully embraced. Stand strong in the wind and have your questions ready and be prepared to ask them, then maintain eye contact to ensure you get your answer. The same advice goes for their questions to you. Be prepared to ask them to stop, repeat themselves and then repeat what you’ve understood back to them.

Balancing multiple ideas, theories and requests while travelling at great speed often leads to Whirlwinds being disorganised. Ensuring that you are organised will certainly help build your relationship. As you learn their patterns and main priorities, providing organisational support will prove invaluable to them. In time, you’ll find a balance that brings some order to the energy.

The Workaholic

The workaholic needs no sleep and is most likely compiling your to do list during the 3-4 hours that they close their eyes at night. Back into the office at 6am while you are still battling with the duvet, that to do list will be ready and waiting for you by the time your journey in starts.

Balancing the Workaholic

Workaholics like efficiency and rightly or wrongly, they’ll be waiting for you to answer the questions they’ve poised in the early hours. The key to finding balance with a workaholic therefore is to be prepared before you enter the office. Put your journey to work to good use and while you may not have the full answers, know what the questions are so that you can immediately demonstrate awareness and put their mind at rest.

As with all leaderships traits, communication is key to maintaining a good balance and a healthy working relationship. Let them know your movements, when you’re leaving and when you’re going to be unavailable, but let them know that you’re on the phone if a situation becomes urgent. In time, they appreciate your working patterns and availability and you’ll be available when it counts.

The Genius

The Genius may have a tendency to over-think and focus their energies on the complexities of running the business, thinking and the bigger picture items. The mental processing power needed for this is often at the sacrifice of common sense and the more mundane issues, which are often most simply solved.

Providing grounding to The Genius

The Genius is a free spirit, a visionary with grand, continuously evolving ideas. This can cause them to become distracted or to follow new tangents that are created in the discovery of a new idea. By providing grounding to ‘The Genius’, you can help keep them on track and maintain control of the primary objectives. Allowing them to explore ideas while providing guidance to bring them back on track will be appreciated and essential to the business achieving its goals. In time, it will be you who they regard as the genius.

Communication is the key to all relationship management, when managing up, and across and down for that matter. We should be aware that not all personality types will work together and it is important to recognise when a relationship is unworkable and not providing either party with the ingredients for success. Professional development and progression is our own responsibility, therefore taking a proactive stance to listen, understand and use our emotional intelligence to foster our key relationships is a critical investment into our careers.