PILLAR 4: EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Managing Up

• A co-worker took me aside and informed me that when I dump my leftover coffee into the sink at the end of the day it leaves the sink stained brown. She told me that this is not attractive to the public who use that washroom. Would I please wipe the sink after I empty my coffee cup?
•  An employee told me after a staff meeting that I was doing a better job at being approachable by staff.

 Those are just two examples that come to mind when I think about “managing up.” Some of you may never have heard of this concept. There are variations in how it is defined: Most articles focus on how your career will be enhanced if you are making your boss’s job easier and him/her more effective.

But to me, the emphasis is different. When I manage up, it’s really about making my job easier, and making myself more effective because if my boss and I are in synch, things just go more smoothly. Often managing up means taking some risks and having difficult discussions that go against the flow of corporate norms. It works something like this: When I have information, or a complaint, or a suggestion that I think that my boss should want to know, I feel better if I simply take that information, complaint or suggestion directly to him. I would expect him to benefit from it, and be more effective in his job, but this is a case where I’m doing it for me because it’s healthier to say what’s on my mind and to make sure we are both operating on the same set of facts and assumptions.

Several years ago, I noticed a rising frustration with certain aspects of my job. When I thought about this, it was clear that this was a reflection of my feelings about some of the bureaucracy surrounding my work. Basically, I felt that I was battling the organization to get my job done. And the more frustrated that I got, the more that I internalized it and the more that work became unpleasant for me. It seemed to me that the organization was doing this.

I discussed this with a mentor in HR, who suggested that perhaps I just needed to take more control of the work climate that I was experiencing by managing up. Specifically, I needed to be more assertive to my boss about things that were interfering with my work. And I found that having these difficult conversations allowed me to enjoy work more. It turned out that I was the one responsible for this part of my work climate.

It was also useful to my boss, I think, to hear my perspective so that he could either adjust his expectations of me, or for him to explain in more detail why some of these bureaucratic rules needed to be in place. And the best result of all was discovering that those conversations became easier and easier over time so that now they are just part of our routine meetings.

My goal is that each employee here feels safe and empowered to speak up to their boss. If not directly, then at least through the various indirect means provided (such as the employee partnership survey). It is because of the two individuals who spoke to me in the examples at the beginning of this story that I now wipe the sink. I am also trying harder to keep doing those things that were improving the work climate for those below me on the org chart.

You can—and should—make work better by managing up.

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PILLAR 1: CARE OF THE COMMUNITY

Thanks largely to the efforts of one of our physical therapists—Pim Solof—we recently began a program of (1) providing quick lymphedema screenings for those who have been treated for breast cancer, and (2) utilizing grant money to allow people in the community to access the screenings without out of pocket cost to themselves. These screenings should allow patients’ medical team to intervene earlier and prevent the permanent damage that would result without intervention. In short, this program can result in a healthier population.

We decided to do this not because it results in more therapy and more business—in fact, just the opposite—but because it is good for our community.