Conclusion

At the end of the day, the modern workplace is a lot like dating. You may find someone who looks great on paper, but then the first date is such a disappointment because the chemistry just isn’t there like you thought it would be. Unfortunately, in the workplace you can’t just decide to make the first date the last or never return their call, because your “date” in this case is your boss! In the workplace, we have to find a way to make it work. Lack of chemistry with your manager doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you or them; it just means that you may need to work a little harder to produce spectacular results. Successful project management in so many ways is about just that. Yes, some project executives/sponsors are amazing to work with, super talented, and effective in their role. Others are highly flawed, inconsistent, and just downright difficult to deal with. Either way, the project manager knows that they must proactively make adjustments to leverage the best relationship and results possible while working with a wide range of senior leader or client personalities. Ultimately, project managers have to manage up, down, across, in between, upside down, inside out, and every direction imaginable to achieve the best business results and team harmony. While project managers often identify managing up as a necessity for project success (and oftentimes their success as well), these skills can be applied to virtually anyone.

During training classes when I’m presenting techniques, I’ll often get asked, “But what about virtual teams or situations?” and that reminds me of the dating analogy as well. Virtual teams, like long-distance couples, often have to try harder to build and maintain relationships, collaborate effectively, negotiate conflicts, and so on. Yes, long-distance couples can still develop deep intimacy and eventually reach the altar, but it typically requires more effort, energy, and compensating for the missing face-to-face connection. Many of the techniques shared throughout the book can help individuals and teams build that stronger connection even in a virtual environment. One could argue that managing up techniques can be even more critical for remote teams or teams operating without the benefit of colocation as they often encourage (if not demand) clearer communication, more effective conflict management, and enhanced task structure and efficiency.

While this book has hopefully increased the number of tools on your tool belt, some might argue that the real genius lies in knowing which tools to use when. Customization on so many levels makes a huge difference. One must consider factors like their relationship with their boss, the organizational culture, whether there’s a pattern of behavior or a single instance, how important the task or project is, maybe even how much you need the job (when determining the level of risk you’re willing to take, for example). I’ve certainly been candid that there is some risk involved with utilizing these techniques (and risk involved in not using them). Indeed, there is a certain boldness that’s needed to manage up effectively, but then again boldness is also needed to innovate in the marketplace, challenge the status quo, build strong relationships, achieve amazing results, and ultimately win! So for those reasons I consider the risk element a bit of a feature, not a bug. Having said that, you should always customize your implementation of the techniques to suit your personality, comfort level, risk tolerance, and, of course, your boss. My intent is never to tell anyone what to do in a particular situation—only the person in the situation can determine that. My goal with this book is to provide an array of alternatives to enhance your options when faced with tricky workplace situations.

Virtually everyone has had negative workplace experiences, and it’s so much easier to pile onto the “big, bad boss” theory than it is to take a hard look in the mirror, but it bears repeating that the boss–subordinate relationship is a very symbiotic one in which both parties bear responsibility. If you find yourself repeatedly complaining about boss after boss, the hard truth is that the difficult one in the relationship might be you! Yes, this book has certainly harped on the point that bosses aren’t perfect, but neither are subordinates (to state the obvious). So in some ways many of the most basic managing up techniques are focused on ensuring that the subordinate is doing their part in terms of being a superstar employee. The importance of this half of the managing up equation can’t be overstated. It’s also important to always start here—with ourselves—because ultimately that’s the only part that we can control. The other half, we do our best to influence … for the best.

While I’ve gone to great lengths to point out that managing up isn’t just about dealing with difficult bosses—it’s just as important for strong, effective bosses too—the techniques become more critically needed during those most difficult workplace situations. Yes, drinking plenty of water is advisable for everyone (even those who are fit), but if you find yourself severely dehydrated, it’s an urgent need. Don’t let yourself become dehydrated; start using these techniques now, before you desperately need them. It could mean the difference between professional life and death.

While college commencement ceremonies are filled with platitudes to help guide our best and brightest young minds as they begin their professional journeys, there’s a lot that they don’t typically mention. I’ve often felt that the halls of academia are too often an intellectual laboratory—in many ways sterile, controlled, and the antithesis of the messy, complicated, often unfair realities of the corporate jungle. I would venture to guess that if we polled young professionals about their most pressing challenges in the workplace, issues like managing a difficult boss, negotiating office politics, building effective teams, getting a project off on the right foot, and developing key strategic relationships would likely rank higher than traditional academic-type issues like cost accounting, finance principles, Ohm’s law, or the finer points of triple integration. I’m a huge believer in higher education and academics in general, but the reality is that academic theory alone oftentimes doesn’t equip us with the full arsenal of tools and weapons needed for success in many organizations. My experience has been that blending book smarts with practical “professional street smarts” is indeed a winning combination.

While the book has focused on practical, actionable tips and techniques, the underlying managing up premise is about much more. In my mind, the managing up philosophy is based on a broader underlying point that we are all created equal and should be respected as such in the workplace (and within broader society for that matter). As that famous classic novel reminded us, it’s so easy to slip into that dangerous mentality of “We’re all equal, but some of us are more equal than others.” Yes, there may be differences in individuals’ functional specialties, years of experience, skill level, and professional interests that logically and appropriately result in differences in work assignments, titles, levels, and so on. However, we all have value and should be respected as such. The corporate workplace has changed (for the better in many ways). Gone are the stereotypical workplace environments of decades past with bosses ruling with an iron fist with minions scurrying around getting coffee, telling them how wonderful they are, and getting whiplash nodding in agreement with every crazy idea—at least, I hope they’re long gone! No, today’s issues are more complex, work environments are more logistically complicated, and competition is too fierce to rely on such a bloated, outdated management philosophy. Instead, the organizations I encounter expect individuals to step up and show leadership and need teams to collaborate seamlessly and demonstrate the highest levels of trust, accountability, and performance. In my experience that only happens when everyone is encouraged to bring their best to the workplace, freely share thoughts, opinions, and ideas, and proactively take steps to not just succeed but also help everyone else around them succeed as well. That spirit is the heart and soul of managing up.