One of the most important professional skills for younger institutional leaders is learning to manage up.

While many organizations spend time working with younger leaders to develop skills necessary to manage down (by which I mean supervising staff), there is less attention given to the cultivation of the skills and practices necessary for effective collaboration with one’s boss. This is despite research suggesting that the quality of this relationship contributes directly to employee satisfaction and performance.

Recently, I asked a seasoned manager to reflect on what she wished her staff knew about managing up. She offered me an extensive list of practices for younger leaders. In some ways, every one of the practices she commends requires a certain personal and professional agency that can be difficult for young leaders to embody but that must be developed to thrive in an organization and in leadership over the long haul.

Here are her reflections and recommendations for young leaders:

  1. Remember that it is your job to keep things that are priorities in your work on your boss’s radar. It is also your job to figure out how to do this, whether that is email, text or face-to-face meetings.
  2. Keep a running list of things you need to discuss with your boss. When the list has grown long enough, call a meeting. Chances are your boss is too busy to meet with each employee regularly. The boss is also too busy to know when you need her/his attention and providing your boss with the information that s/he needs is your responsibility.
  3. When meeting with your boss, it is your responsibility to use the time wisely and discuss what is most important. Have your list prepared and go through it succinctly. When you have cared for your items, ask your boss what is on his or her list for you.
  4. Your boss is not your problem-fixer. When you have problems, take time to think through them and prepare ideas of how to respond. Run through these ideas with your boss and ask for her/his opinion. S/he may tweak your plan or suggest something else entirely.
  5. Let your boss teach you how to strategize and see the bigger picture. If your boss has made a decision that you do not understand, practice curiosity and ask to hear the strategy behind the decision. Do this with an attitude of respect and from a true desire to learn.
  6. Understand that your boss has more information than you do. Some of this information can be shared, while some of it cannot be. You will never know all that your boss knows. Enjoy this while it lasts because when you are the boss, you will have to make the very difficult decisions of what to share when.
  7. Your professional development is your responsibility. If this is what you want to discuss, ask for a meeting and come prepared with your ideas for your future. The boss can then respond with options.
  8. Know that your boss is not there to care for your emotions. S/he can be supportive and aware of certain issues, but care for personal issues at home and not in the office.
  9. Ask for what you need from your boss and be specific, and then let your boss tell you what s/he can and cannot give. Understand that your boss has a full-time job in addition to supervising you and the other staff that s/he manages. If the boss cannot give you what you need, then inquire about resources within and outside of your organization.
  10. Remain open to change. If you find that you cannot change, it is time to move on to another job rather than slow down change within an organization.

Hopefully, younger institutional leaders will find in this list helpful practices for managing up. For senior leaders this list can serve as the start of a conversation with their colleagues.