Whenever there is a change in leadership in an organization, at least a few people get nervous. Will the new person in charge think I’m competent? Will the current balance of power and status be disrupted? And most important, will I survive in the new world order?
Many people do just fine when a new leader takes over, but those who do not often have something in common: They fail to manage up. That is the practice of engaging with the person above you in the organizational food chain in the way he or she prefers to be engaged and acting in alignment with his or her priorities. Managing up differs from sucking up in that it requires adapting rather than selling your soul.
Should you find yourself reporting to someone new or even failing to thrive with someone you have reported to for some time, consider the following questions:
Who clicks with the leader? Who are the leader’s go-to people or confidants? What do those people do, and why does it seem to work for them?
What matters most to the leader? Does he want to be known as a reformer, or as a leader committed to order, stability, and accountability? Is she interested in being known as an innovator? Does he need to be popular? Does she value harmony? Once you figure that out, how can you frame your ideas in ways that will resonate with those priorities?
How does the new leader want to receive information from you? One person I know assumed that because her new boss responded to e-mail messages with one-sentence answers, he wanted her to write equally brief messages. It turned out that he actually wanted details but didn’t have the time to craft lengthy responses. Another person drove his supervisor crazy by cranking out multi-issue novellas instead of the brief, to-the-point messages that he preferred.
How much information are you expected to provide? Does the new leader want to know everything that’s going on, or does he or she want reports on areas of strategic importance? What is the preferred format for sharing that information? Orally? In writing? Bullet points? With plenty of details?
What is the expected meeting protocol? Are you meant to talk, or are you meant to listen? If only some people are meant to talk, are you one of them?
What strategies have you used to manage up? What questions would you add to the list?