Managing Up

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Managing Up Creating a Partnership For
Success Howard Schultz, MSW, LCSW
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Who Is Howard Schultz?
Howard Schultz is an accomplished executive with
twenty-seven years of management expertise in

• Supervisionrecruitment, training, and leadership
  of 350 employees
• Increasing Revenuesover 7 million of growth
  through new and expanded programs, services,
  sales, and entrepreneurial ventures
• Strategic Planningdevelopment and management of
  comprehensive action plans
• Capital Developmentmanaged, solicited and
  secured over 40 million in capital
  contributions, grants, endowment, and operating
  support
• Facility Construction and Managementprogrammed,
  developed, supervised construction, and managed
  collectively over 500,000 sq.ft. of single and
  multi-purpose facilities on multi-acre campuses
• Board Developmentmanaged policy development,
  communications, resources and involvement of
  volunteer leadership
• Technological Innovationresearched, purchased,
  and trained staff on computers to increase
  productivity, achieve substantial cost savings,
  improve time management, and engage in new
  marketing opportunities.
• Consultation-helping agencies deal with
  challenges, change and creative solutions.

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• We Will Focus On
• What is Managing Up?
• Why is it good for the CEO and middle managers?
• What do CEOs think about their Number Two?
• What are some obstacles to successfully Managing
  Up?
• What are some assumptions about successfully
  Managing Up?
• Defining compatible work styles
• Some examples of successfully Managing Up
• A checklist for managing your boss

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Question Whos a CEO? Whos a number 2? Whos a
middle manager not 2 Whos not a manager?
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What is Managing Up? The term 'managing your
boss' means "the process of consciously working
with your superior to obtain the best possible
results for you, your boss, and the company." It
does not refer to political maneuvering or apple
polishing. 1 The concept of managing up is based
on the premise that helping your boss or director
do his or her job is one method for gaining help
in carrying out the middle management job. 2 
Effective Managing Up is based on the assumption
that HELPING THE BOSS TO DO GOOD is a shared
responsibility between the Number Two and the CEO
1.  Managing Your Boss, Gabarro and Kotter,
Harvard Business Review, 1986,2005 2. "Managing
Up Relationship Building Between Middle
Management and Top Management", by Michael, J.
Austin, PhD, Administration in Social Work,
Vol. 12, 1988
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What Are the CEOs Expectations of the Number
Two? What Exactly Is the Ideal Role for the
Number Two        
Partner or Assistant?
Faithful sidekick or distant relative?
Service Provider or Supervisor?
Independent Professional or Yes Man?
Insider or Outsider?
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Choosing the right assistants can be a tricky
choice for a manager
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Managing Up can be defined in terms of the
following components
Advocating for the needs of subordinates
Influencing company policy by proposing changes
in how the organization functions
Influencing product or program development by
proposing strategies on how we should do things
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Influencing management and providing constructive
feedback by analyzing
The organizational climate with respect to
improving inter-departmental communications and
teambuilding
The impact of the executives management style
and actions on staff
The need for recognition of outstanding staff work
The changing nature of work life in order to
foster maximum creativity and participation.
How to successfully implement managements
directives and expectations
Enhancing top managements capacity to receive
and utilize input from middle managers, and
middle managers capacity to view the managing up
process as enhancing their career development are
essential components to mutual success.
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Successful Managing Up is Based upon a number of
assumptions
Middle managers and department heads need to
continually seek to understand the cross
pressures, context and role strains experienced
by top execs.
Perceiving the CEO as a human being who makes
mistakes, who may have significant limitations as
well as strengths, who has a managerial style
which needs to be accurately assessed by the
Number Two, who needs to be recognized and
appreciated as much as anyone else in the
organization, and who needs regular feedback
(positive and negative) from his or her middle
managers.
Managing is not the exclusive property of MBA
grads. At times we are all managers, and we are
all support staff managers have to roll up their
sleeves and get in the trenches.
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More Assumptions

• No doubt, some subordinates will resent that on
  top of all their other duties, they also need to
  take time and energy to manage their
  relationships with their bosses.
• Such managers fail to realize the importance of
  this activity and how it can simplify their jobs
  by eliminating potentially severe problems.

Effective managers recognize that this part of
their work is legitimate. Seeing themselves as
ultimately responsible for what they achieve in
an organization, they know they need to establish
and manage relationships with everyone on whom
they depend, and that includes the boss. (Gabbaro
and Kotter)
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• Based upon these assumptions
• What are the top 3 traits or skills most
  desirable in a Number Two
• What are the 3 least desirable or problematic
  traits in a Number Two.

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Questions for the CEO About Their Number Two
1) How threatened do I feel or should I feel
about the Number Two?
2) Do I value feedback and what kind do I
encourage or accept?
3) Does our staff structure help or hinder the
relationship between the Number Two and me? What
structures would help advance the relationship?
What hinders it?
4) What role assumed by, or assigned to the
Number Two will make me a more effective CEO?
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Questions for the CEO About Their Number Two
5) How does my assessment of the Number Twos
capabilities affect my ability to receive input
from the managing up process?
6) How much access does the Number Two have to
my board leadership?
7) How much time do I want to invest in receiving
input from the managing up process?
8) How much do I encourage managing up?
9) How much do I want to invest in the Number
Twos professional growth and leadership ,
knowing that this may lead to his/her desire to
seek a higher position elsewhere (quicker)?
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Investing Time To Train Managers To Be Leaders
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What are some obstacles that would prevent a CEO
from accepting or allowing successful managing up?
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A Partial List of Obstacles to the CEO accepting
managing up
The CEO feeling threatened by talented Number
Twos.perceived competition
Prior poor experience by the CEO in receiving
input from subordinates
The CEO having been disappointed or betrayed in
the past by subordinates
The CEO feeling vulnerable at the agency
Unwillingness of the CEO to address his or her
own blind spots
The CEO feeling isolated or alone within the
organization
The CEO feeling overloaded by the range of issues
needing attention and therefore not being
willing/able to commit the time necessary to
managing up.
The CEO fostering a demeanor or professional
style that can impede or discourage feedback from
subordinates
The structure of the agency may serve to keep the
CEO isolated in a position whereby few people
have direct contact.
The existence by the CEO of intimidation
rituals towards subordinates
Nullification, isolation, defamation, expulsion
Inability of the Number Two to handle the
responsibility incumbent in managing up
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The existence of shared madness, an environment
whereby both the CEO and Number Two have lost
touch with the reality of whats happening at the
company
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More Obstacles to CEO Acceptance
Failure of the Number Two to see how the CEO
needs help and cooperation in order to do his/her
job effectively. Managing the flow of
information upward is particularly difficult if
the boss does not like to hear about problems.
Although many people would deny it, bosses often
give off signals that they want to hear only good
news. They show great displeasure--usually
nonverbally- when someone tells them about a
problem. Ignoring individual achievement, they
may even evaluate more favorably subordinates who
do not bring problems to them. Nevertheless, for
the good of the organization, the boss, and the
subordinate, a superior needs to hear about
failures as well as success. (Gabarro and Kotter)
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More Rules for Number 2
It is common for the CEO to need more information
than the Number Two would naturally supply, or
for the Number Two to assume that the CEO knows
more than may be the case. Therefore, regular
informal discussions provide the Number Two with
an opportunity to display dependability and
honesty while seeking to make the best use of the
CEOs time and not reducing the Number Twos
credibility by raising relatively trivial issues.
Subordinates can adjust their styles in response
to their bosses' preferred method for receiving
information. Some supervisors spell out their
expectations very explicitly. But most do not.
Ultimately, the burden falls on the subordinate
to find out what the boss's expectations are
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The Need for Compatible Work Styles

• Acquiring a thorough understanding of each
  others strengths, weaknesses, styles and needs
• The Number Two needs to know whether or not the
  CEO is a reader or a listener.
• The Number Two needs to know whether the CEO is a
  high involvement exec or a delegating exec.

• At a minimum, you need to appreciate your boss's
  goals and pressures. Without this information,
  you are flying blind, and problems are
  inevitable.
•  Some people behave as if their bosses were not
  very dependent on them. They fail to see how much
  the boss needs their help and cooperation to do
  his or her job effectively.

• Some people see themselves as not very dependent
  on their bosses. They gloss over how much help
  and information they need from the boss in order
  to perform their own jobs well.
•  Many managers assume that the boss will
  magically know what information or help their
  subordinates need and provide it to them.

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Creating a compatible relationship also involves
drawing on each other's strengths and making up
for each other's weaknesses.   Adjust to the
CEOs decision-making style Some bosses prefer
to be involved in decisions and problems as they
arise. These are high-involvement managers who
like to keep their hands on the pulse of the
operation. Usually their needs (and your own) are
best satisfied if you touch base with them on an
ad hoc basis. A boss who has a need to be
involved will become involved one way or another,
so there are advantages to including him or her
at your initiative. Other bosses prefer to
delegate-they don't want to be involved. They
expect you to come to them with major problems
and inform them about any important changes.
(Gabbaro Kotter)
Understanding Yourself The boss is only one-half
of the relationship. You are the other half, as
well as the part over which you have more direct
control. Developing an effective working
relationship requires that you know your own
needs, strengths and weaknesses, and personal
style.   Become aware of what it is about you
that impedes or facilitates working with your
boss and, with that awareness, take actions that
make the relationship more effective. Learn how
to disagree
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Understanding What the CEO Wants

• The subordinate who passively assumes that he or
  she knows what the boss expects is in for
  trouble.  
• Ultimately, the burden falls on the subordinate
  to find out what the boss's expectations are.
• The Number Two needs to know expectations and
  information flow
• The Number Two needs have constantly clarified
  what types of problems the CEO expects to be
  informed about and when information sharing
  should take place.
• The Number Two needs be empowered

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• Being sensitive to a boss's work style can be
  crucial, especially when the boss is new. 
• Understanding how the boss works best
• Need for information and frequency of contact
• Need for preparation
• Type of brainstorming
• Level of comfort with subordinates
• Level of control need

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A Few Examples of the Managing Up Process
By helping the boss recognize that I'm a good
professional, I gain the necessary freedom to do
my job and the boss can be assured that my
responsibilities will be addressed.
My boss can be very compulsive by dropping into
my office many times in one day. So I help him
to see that he is keeping me from doing my job by
using humor or telling him with a big smile to
get out of my office.
My boss presents himself in such a way that one
is not always sure about what he is thinking. So
I accommodate to his style by being more
assertive and nurturing in order to help him be
more expressive.
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I've spent the past two years promoting the idea
that our organization needs an in-house staff
development program by soliciting the ideas of
others and reminding my boss of the importance of
orienting, updating, and upgrading staff
When my salary as a female senior manager lagged
significantly behind my male counterparts, it was
necessary for me to advocate for myself and
educate my boss. This was a scary but necessary
component of our managerial relationship.
While I have a difficult time saying "no" to
anyone on my staff, it is even more difficult for
me to say "no" to my boss. And yet, if I don't
set realistic limits for my broad area of
responsibility, who will? As I set limits, my
boss gains greater understanding of my strengths
and areas of improvement.
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Checklist for Managing Your Boss Make sure you
understand your boss and his or her context,
including   Goals and objectives
         Pressures          Strengths,
weaknesses, blind spots          Preferred work
style Assess yourself and your needs, including
       Strengths and weaknesses         
Personal style          Predisposition toward
dependence on authority figures Develop and
maintain a relationship that         Fits
both your needs and styles          Is
characterized by mutual expectations         
Keeps your boss informed          Is based on
dependability and honesty          Selectively
uses your boss's time and resources
Gabarro Kotter
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EXAMPLE OF WORKING AT CROSS PURPOSES   In one
situation we studied, a top-notch marketing
manager with a superior performance record was
hired into a company as a vice president to
straighten out the marketing and sales problems.
The company, which was having financial
difficulties, had recently been acquired by a
larger corporation. The president was eager to
turn it around and gave the new marketing vice
president free rein-at least initially. Based on
his previous experience, the new vice president
correctly diagnosed that greater market share was
needed for the company and that strong product
management was required to bring that about.
Following that logic, he made a number of pricing
decisions aimed at increasing high-volume
business. When margins declined and the
financial situation did not improve, however, the
president increased pressure on the new vice
president. Believing that the situation would
eventually correct itself as the company gained
back market share, the vice president resisted
the pressure. When by the second quarter,
margins and profits had still failed to improve,
the president took direct control over all
pricing decisions and put all items on a set
level of margin, regardless of volume. The new
vice president began to find himself shut out by
the president, and their relationship
deteriorated. In fact, the vice president found
the president's behavior bizarre. Unfortunately,
the president's new pricing scheme also failed to
in- crease margins, and by the fourth quarter,
both the president and the vice president were
fired. What the new vice president had not known
until it was too late was that improving
marketing and sales had been only one of the
president's goals. His most immediate goal had
been to make the company more profitable-
quickly. Nor had the new vice president known
that his boss was invested in this short-term
priority for personal as well as business
reasons. The president had been a strong advocate
of the acquisition within the parent company, and
his personal credibility was at stake. The vice
president made three basic errors. He took
information supplied to him at face value, he
made assumptions in areas where he had no
information, and-what was most damaging-he never
actively tried to clarify what his boss's
objectives were. As a result, he ended up taking
actions that were actually at odds with the
president's priorities and objectives. 1 1
Managing Your Boss, Gabarro and Kotter, Harvard
Business Review, 1986,2005
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Please Keep Your Questions Easy, I just finished
my articles too.
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Thank You For Your Kind Attention
This Has Been Managing Up Creating a
Partnership For Success Howard Schultz, MSW, LCSW
For Other Presentations by Howard Schultz call
513-227-5541 or email Howschultz_at_cinci.rr.com
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Bibliography and Source Material   "Managing Up
Relationship Building Between Middle Management
and Top Management", by Michael, J. Austin, PhD,
Administration in Social Work, Vol. 12,
1988 Managing Your Boss, Gabarro and Kotter,
Harvard Business Review, 1986,2005 Hating the
Boss is a Big Problem, Joan Llyod, Joan Lloyd at
Work, http//www.joanlloyd.com/articles/open.asp?a
rt169.htm Managing Up Helping You Help Your
Boss, Idealist on Campus, Connect Act
Change Leader to Leader Institute
ttp//www.drucker.org/leadersbooks/121/complete-te
xt.htm. The Dilbert Principle, Scott Adams,
(HarperBusiness, NY), 1996.