The relationship between an employee and a manager is mutually dependent, yet they are not always mutually beneficial. The manager is the person best positioned to partner with direct reports on their preferred career pathways, so it makes sense to invest time to build the best possible relationship where both parties can shine.
We know that the greatest work outcomes are gained from an inclusive workforce where diversity of thought is embraced and employees enjoy a positive workplace relationship with their manager. In some cases, this is a perfect match and in others, it takes some elbow grease on both sides to get the job done.
A great manager does not need ‘authority’ to manage, and a talented employee respects the organisational hierarchy while not feeling intimidated by it. The following 8 tips empower employees to gain the best out of their manager by utilising some key tips to ‘manage up’:
When you understand what makes your manager tick, you can better appreciate why they operate a certain way, rather than just be frustrated by it. Ask your manager if they have done a personality profiling tool such as MBTI or DISC and be prepared to share your own results.
Forget the title, your manager is a real person that is also juggling a life outside of work. Managers aren’t necessarily experiencing the ‘first class’ version of work while you are in economy. Seek to view them as more than the person who rates your performance and look at them as someone who has their own workplace frustrations, aspirations, and insecurities.
A good leader will not want you to think the same as them, so differences of opinion are inevitable. Sometimes, managers can feel intimidated when a direct report produces the right solution, so it is important to handle this with care. When differences emerge:
One of the quickest ways to achieve a mutually beneficial working relationship is to determine what is important to your manager. Consider the following.
Most workers can recite something that their manager does that pushes their buttons. It would be easy to turn this into a rant, but it is much more productive to be focused on the positive. For example, if your manager grinds your gears by letting every meeting run over time turn this into a suggestion such as:
“I feel like it is important that we are valuing everyone’s time by finishing our meetings on time. What if we rotated the role of a timekeeper that helped us to stay focused and on track?”
Miscommunication is the root of evil in many relationship breakdowns and workplaces are no different. If your manager has been fed the wrong information or is confused about your contribution it is time to speak up!
Open communication is critical to ensure that you are both on the same page with goals, output, achievements, and hurdles. Start the conversation with something as simple as:
“I would love a moment of your time to bring you up to speed on project X. I know you have your senior leadership meeting tomorrow afternoon and I think the recent data will help you to promote the team’s achievements”.
Managers use this trick every day and is one of the first things that those new to the role learn to gain the best out of workers. However, this is also a technique that employees can use to manage up. If there is something you want to see more of, call it out. For instance:
Leading is rewarding, but it is not easy. When your manager is delivering constructive feedback, try to think about the intent and how this will help you. When a manager has taken the time to deliver hard feedback in an appropriate way, share your gratitude:
“Sam, I acknowledge that was difficult feedback to share, but I appreciate your respectful and balanced approach.”
This shows the manager that their efforts have been valued.
Employees have the right to expect a genuine leader but often we don’t talk about managers having a right to authentic employees. Let’s be honest, some employees spend lunch breaks talking with peers about their imperfect manager without having the courage to ask “what could I do better?”. When you have a genuine leader, you have all you need to build a working relationship where success is defined by mutual respect and shared goals.
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Georgina is Senior HR Content Editor – Publications at Ai Group. She is an accomplished Human Resource professional with over 25 years of generalist and leadership experience in a broad range of industries including financial services, tourism, travel, government and agriculture. She has successfully advised and partnered with senior leaders to implement people and performance initiatives that align to business strategy. Georgina is committed to utilising her experience to create resources that educate and engage and is passionate about supporting members to optimise an inclusive workforce culture that drives performance.
