MANAGING UP

1. MANAGING UP Helping You Help Your Supervisor Adapted from Idealist on Campus/Action Without Borders Presented by Aliza Mazor to CLIP Interns

2. MANAGING UP • Managing the people who manage you • Managing peer relationships (managing out) • Advocating for what you need and want • Increasing organizational effectiveness and efficiency • Increasing job satisfaction

3. GOALS 1) Identify some basic managerial styles 2) Identify our own management style 3) Understand what enables different styles to work more effectively together 4) Identify strategies for increased effectiveness in our current jobs 5) To practices skills and strategies for “managing-up”

4. Four Basic Types

5. Management Styles • People Person – Its all about having the right people involved. You get the most out of people by investing in them. Spends a lot of time on relationship building. Spends a lot of time getting to know people as individuals. Enjoys management. • Go-To Person – Very task oriented. Good at prioritizing. Good at designing and implementing systems. Always good at producing outcomes – no matter what the challenges. Strong on logistics. Makes quick decisions. • Analyzer Planner – Slower at decision making. Cannot proceed without logic and rationale. Good at estimating the kind and amount of resources required to get something accomplished. Good at sequencing activities to avoid duplication of effort or un-necessary expenditure of resources. Conservative in a good way. • Idea Generator – Passionate. Expansive thinker who sees connections and associations between different ideas and systems. Not focused on details. Less focused on people and logistics.

6. Talk in Pairs • Who do you think you are? Do you think you gravitate towards one type? Why? • Who do you think your current supervisor is? Where does s/he gravitate? • If you are similar in type how does that impact your working relationship? • If you are different in type, how does that impact your working relationship?

7. What tools do we use to manage up? • E-mail • Supervision meetings • Hallway conversations • Formal memos • Meeting agendas • ??????

8. Playtime Pick a scenario that is similar to one you have faced at work. Explain how your styles impact this scenario. Suggest three ways you could approach this more effectively next time.

9. Scenarios • Your supervisor is stressed and exhausted but won’t ask for help; you are under-utilized. • You need your supervisor to sign off on something and s/he is not available. • Your supervisor drops projects on your desk without warning; messes with your time management. • You get no feedback on your work. You want feedback • Your supervisor has a great new idea – very different from the game-plan you have been working on. • You have a great new idea – very different from the game-plan agreed to with you’re your supervisor. • Your supervisor is not around a lot. You need some face time. • You don’t understand how your job fits into the big picture. You think context would increase your motivation and productivity. • There are some parts of your job you love and other parts you loathe. Could some responsibilities be shifted? • A department that I don’t work in has ideas for my department. I don’t know how to prioritize their recommendations with my current workload.

10. People Person • Face to face meetings • Make a joint calendar • Articulate your needs– connect tasks to needs • Use face time to check-in, re-prioritize, monitor progress • Offer to help • Empathize and sympathize • Stroke

11. Go-To Person • Catch him/her early in the day so you don’t get bumped • Use e-mail for everything that does not need face time – clarify if it is ok to proceed if you don’t hear otherwise • Always prepare an agenda, always send in advance – use agenda to share preliminary thinking and make recommendations • Summarize up front, frame meetings with questions or decisions that need to be made • Leave the office for important meetings • Use someone else as a sounding board • Don’t take abruptness and missed meetings personally • Create a feedback loop in writing

12. Idea Generator • Listen • Meet face to face • Help sort ideas based on urgency and importance • Find the right way to do a reality check – if new plans contradict old ones, find a detached way to engage the contradiction • Discern whether s/he is more interested in the what or the how • Once ideas have been vetted, make sure there is a clear plan and timeline • Don’t un-pack ideas all at once – let them simmer – schedule follow-up • Use updates as an opportunity to re-engage in the big ideas around the work at hand • Don’t nag • Don’t say no immediately • Frontload meetings with important items – attention will drift

13. Analyzer Planner • Use short memos to sketch out idea and rationale • Plan out details and anticipate questions • Think about implications for policy and logistics • Use someone else as your sounding board – only present when it is well thought out • Deliver coherent, organized presentations • Project confidence and personal commitment to ideas • Give notice through e-mail and voice mail – no surprises • Lighten things up in an appropriate way

14. COMMON THEMES • Unrealistic Expectations – how to manage them without appearing unenthusiastic • Time Management – juggling priorities, demands from other departments • Doing More with Less • Navigating the Generation Gap – different approaches to technology and communications • Multiple Reporting Relationships • Getting My Ideas Heard • How to gain access to senior managers who are not my direct supervisors • Asking the right questions in the right moment • Access – checking e-mail, availability on weekends, nights, etc.

15. Strategic Use of Touch-Points • Regular Supervision (1:1) • Calendars • Annual Performance Review • Team Meetings • Staff Retreats • Job Description • Professional Development