Help your team to manage upwards
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You may have heard the phrase “people join organisations and leave managers” – and worryingly, it’s true. For many people their relationship with their manager is key to staying in the organisation. In fact, I’m regularly asked for help in ‘managing upwards’, by frustrated team members who feel they don’t know what their manager wants, or find that they are difficult to please.
However, the great news is that it’s just as true the other way – a great relationship with a manager can propel both people to high performance and career glory. In our research we’ve found that 11% of jobs that shaped people’s careers came to them because of a great relationship with a former boss. And this is because we can’t be perfect at everything. Great careers are usually built on people with complementary strengths forming great working relationships. Think of Steve Jobs, Jony Ive and Tim Cook.
So the question is, how can you build a great relationship with your team; that uses all their diverse strengths?
- Open up to your team members
This is a tough requirement. But you need to remember that people are not mind readers and will find it hard to guess what’s important to you. You need to be very clear at explaining your strengths and weaknesses, what worries you, what bores you, what irritates you – and the things you enjoy and do quickly and those you hate and put off working on. Then they will understand how they can individually add value to you – being the yang to your yin is what leads to the relationship being highly productive. - Reflect on what you’re trying to achieve and how they can support you with it.
Team members will have goals that they want to accomplish for themselves, but most of the time they want assurance that their work is in sync with yours and working towards a ‘higher purpose’. Discussing your agenda helps iron out any areas of disagreement, which will ultimately be something that stops them wanting to give you 100%. It makes it easier to trust them if you know that everyone supports the same overarching goal. Equally, sometimes sharing your goals and the support you need, will help you understand whether they are the right person to have in your team. - Build trust
People won’t automatically trust you just because you manage them – they will usually, however, be open to trust and willing to give you it quickly. Accelerate the process by showing them that you’re prepared to trust them, that you are trying to see things from their perspective, and that you have their back and will take any flak and go out of your way to support them. - Give them freedom to be creative
Very few employees enjoy being micro-managed, and it can lead to a hasty exit from the team or organisation. In every team I’ve managed, the quality I most appreciate is proactivity, when the team member has delivered something needed and relevant (see number 2!). Provide direction and advice, and give people chance to show you what they can do – they may well surprise you with the direction they take and the work they produce. If you need to keep an oversight of what they are doing – get them to take responsibility for reporting progress on a regular basis – if they feel in control, they will be less likely to feel micro-managed. You can focus on gently steering and informing their thinking as they progress. - Talk them up
One of the best signs you’ve successfully managed upwards is when someone tells you that you have! I’m regularly shocked when I ask highly competent and effective managers when they last received feedback from their manager, and it takes them a long time to think of this. Make an effort to give detailed appreciation – not just “That was great!” But, “I particularly liked this, and that was very helpful to me because…”. But even more than that, I know from personal experience the positive effects of hearing how my manager was talking me up and praising me behind my back. Knowing they were going around the organisation promoting my reputation built an almost unbreakable loyalty. Do you let others know how great your team are?
Reflect on your relationship with your team members – do they understand you as a person? Do they understand your agenda? Have they got your trust? Do you micro-manage them? Do you talk them up to your manager and to your peers? If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions – how can you fix it?