From the course: Managing Up as an Employee

Why everyone needs to manage up

From the course: Managing Up as an Employee

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Why everyone needs to manage up

- In the last 20 years of working with leaders and teams, I've learned many things. One thing I've learned for sure is that developing a productive, positive, and robust relationship with your boss can make the difference between career success and career stagnation. Another thing I've learned for sure is that not all bosses are good at being bosses. So let's explore a few key reasons why we all need to manage up. Reason number one, we all have bosses. Every reports to somebody. Even us business owners have bosses. They're called our customers and our clients. Reason number two is your boss matters. Your boss has a lot of influence over your career trajectory. Your boss has a lot of sway over the types of projects you work on, a lot of influence over the teams you're part of, and even the visibility within your organization or in your industry. They matter. Number three, you know what else matters? Your career matters. Nobody will, should, or can care about your career more than you do. So if you care about career success and career goals, however you define them, and part of accomplishing those hinges on having a good, productive working relationship with your boss, then it's on you to make that happen. Number four, and this is a big one. As I said before, not all bosses are good at being bosses. Here's the truth about how we create bosses in America. We tend to promote people based on their technical ability, their technical success as an individual contributor. So let's say you're a great salesperson. Well, congratulations, Michael Scott. You are now head of Dunder Mifflin. So we promote people based on their technical skills without really knowing whether they have the ability or the acumen to be great people managers. Secondly, we promote people without really training them well. Most people get their first taste of being a manager somewhere in their late 20s, early 30s. But studies show that we don't give significant training in how to do that job until their late 30s, early 40s. So you have 10 years of people just kind of winging it. And lastly, a lot of people go into management and leadership who don't even want to be managers or leaders. In many organizations, the only way to further your career is to go up the chain of management, is to become a manager or a supervisor. That's how we get more money. That's how we get a promotion. Remember, we all need to manage up. Managing up is a skill you will use for your entire professional life. Learning to manage up now puts you in the driver's seat of your career. And never forget, your career matters, your boss matters, and that relationship matters.

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