The Art of Managing Up

1. The Art of Managing Up State & Consumer Services Agency Governor’s Office of the Insurance Advisor Director Kathleen Webb

2. Agenda • How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (a play, a movie, a revival) • ISO Realities • Managing vs. Manipulating • Guidelines to Manage Up • Managing Up or Leading Up • Resources

3. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying • A play, a movie, and a revival offering a satirical perspective on moving up the business ladder. • J. Pierpont Finch, a young but bright window-cleaner buys a book - "How To Succeed In Business" and following its advice joins the multi-national but poorly-connected "World-Wide Wicket Company". Starting from the mail-room he rises to Vice-President in Charge Of Advertising using sneaky and dubious ways so that the person above him gets either fired or moved to another section of the company. • Can Finch rise to the top or will it all go down in flames...

4. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying • Mr. Twimble: Last month I became a quarter-of-a-century man. J. Pierpont Finch: Oh, that's beautiful, a quarter-of-a-century. Mr. Twimble: Quarter-of-a-century. J. Pierpont Finch: How long have you been in the mail room? Mr. Twimble: Twenty-five years. It's not easy to get this medal. It takes a combination of skill, diplomacy, and bold caution. • While skill, diplomacy and bold caution are important qualities … we will discuss methods that can create a win-win for everyone, including the organization and your projects.

5. ISO Realities • The ISO is required to oversee agency compliance with policies and procedures regarding the security of information assets. • Strengths • SAM requirements and guidelines • Recommended reporting structure • Elevation of OISPP • Media attention on breaches • California privacy laws • Others

6. ISO Realities • Challenges • Changes at leadership levels • Competing priorities • Size of operation • Multiple tasks & assignments • Planning today for the possibility of an uncertain event in the future • One element within a risk management program • Budget constraints • Others

7. Managing vs. Manipulating • Managing Up Defined • “the process of consciously working with your boss to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss and your organization. This is not political maneuvering or kissing up. Rather, it is a deliberate effort to bring understanding and cooperation to a relationship between individuals who often have different perspectives.” Quote from Thomas Zuber and Erika James.

8. Managing vs. Manipulating • Learning to manage up can be the ultimate win-win scenario for your career and organization. • Benefits • You are the expert at what you do! • You have the best vantage point of what should be done. • Successfully manage your program. • Drawbacks • ?

9. Guidelines to Manage Up • Successful managers pay attention to managing in all directions and communicating with their peers. 13 Tips to Successfully Manage Up • Communicate: fundamental to success • Verbal • Written • Readers • Listeners

10. Guidelines to Manage Up • No Surprises • Good or Bad • Provide Solutions, Not Problems • Be Honest and Trustworthy • Be Loyal and Committed • Understand your boss’s perspective and agenda • Understand your boss’s preferences

11. Guidelines to Manage Up • Understand your own management style • Know the strengths and weaknesses of your management skills and take responsibility for its effect on others. • Enthusiasm for your duties • Department Goals vs. Personal Goals • Embrace Learning • Response to Change • Ability to train and develop • Ability to arbitrate disputes • Big Picture View

12. Guidelines to Manage Up • Depend on your boss’s strengths • Recognize your boss’s weaknesses • Be aware of hot buttons and pet peeves • Request Feedback • Don’t go over your boss’s head or behind their back.

13. An Essential Tool • “Managing up sounds simple, but managers, and everyone else, need to learn this basic concept. If we want someone to understand what we have to say, we must learn to speak their language, rather than expect them to learn ours.” – Richard L. Knowdell, Building a Career Development Program: Nine Steps for Effective Implementation • Help me help you and the organization succeed!

14. Managing Up or Leading Up • Leading up involves the ability to influence people above you to help them strategically achieve better results. • Managing involves tactically driven activity • Leading involves strategically driven activity • Leading up may involve offering strategic insight and coaching to enhance an organizations delivery models and outcomes. • Awareness of your environment is critical to avoid pitfalls – leading up may not be an option.

15. Resources • Articles • Wayne Turk, The Art of Managing Up, Defense AT&L: March-April 2007 • Leading Up: The Art of Managing Your Boss, Knowledge@Emory, July 4, 2001 • Mark Chapman, How to Manage Up: The Art of Managing Your Boss, SearchWarp.com, October 2007 • Books • Throwing the Elephant – Zen and the Art of Managing Up, Stanley Bing, 2002, Harper Business - Harper Collins Publishers