Managing up and managing down: Difference between revisions

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{{How-to|date=August 2019}}

'''Managing upUp and managingManaging downDown''' is studied asa part of management studies, andthat details how a [[middleMiddle management|middle managermanagers]] or [[Supervisor|supervisors]] should effectively deal with histheir or her managermanagers and with his or her subordinates. Promotion Additionally,to managingmanagement upcomes onwith itsadditional ownresponsibility mayof bemanaging adown. usefulWith skillthe foradditional aresponsibility subordinatefor whomanaging intheir turnteam doeswhile notremaining manage anyone. It is generally consideredaccountable to betheir distinctmanagement fromteams, managers "[[suckingrequire up]]"additional orskills "[[kissingand up]]"training to theeffectively managerinfluence andup "[[kickingor down]]". toManagement subordinateslevels aswithin itlarge involvesorganizations benignare andstructured straightforwardfrom a [[socialHierarchical influenceorganization|influencinghierarchal organization]] ratherand thaninclude underhandsenior, [[Psychologicalmiddle, manipulation|manipulation]]and lower management roles.<ref>Turk W (2007) Defense AT&L: March–April The Art of Managing Up</ref><ref name="Johnson">Johnson W (15 Dec 2014) Managing Up Without Sucking Up Harvard Business Review</ref><ref>Price S Ivy Exec Managing Up Without Kissing Up</ref><ref>The Careers Group (2010) Your Academic Career: Managing Professional Relationships University of London</ref>

==Outcomes==

Effectively managing up and down can lead to the following accomplishments:<ref>Turk W (2007) Defense AT&L: March–April The Art of Managing Up</ref><ref name="Johnson2">Johnson W (15 Dec 2014) Managing Up Without Sucking Up Harvard Business Review</ref><ref>Price S Ivy Exec Managing Up Without Kissing Up</ref><ref>The Careers Group (2010) Your Academic Career: Managing Professional Relationships University of London</ref>

'''What can be accomplished when you influence up or down'''

* Promotions

* Promotions

* Job opportunities

* Workers benefits

* Job Opportunities

* Special recognition

* Improved working conditions

* Improved overall company culture

* Special project Opportunities opportunities

* Improved internal relationships

* And more...

== Required skills ==

'''What skills are needed to do so effectively'''

Certain skills must be employed to manage up and down successfully. These include:<ref>Turk W (2007) Defense AT&L: March–April The Art of Managing Up</ref><ref name="Johnson2" /><ref>Price S Ivy Exec Managing Up Without Kissing Up</ref><ref>The Careers Group (2010) Your Academic Career: Managing Professional Relationships University of London</ref>

* Communication skills

* Delegation

* '''Organization skills''' - Having strong organizational skills allowallows youfor toproper properlycoordination coordinateof peoplestaff and resources within yourthe company.

* Time management skills

* '''Communication skills''' - The ability to express your wants and needs related to yourwork employeesallocation insets a clear and coordinated mannerroadmap eliminatesand anyreduces the likelihood of misinterpretations.

* How to disagree respectfully

* '''Time Management'''

* Problem-solving skills

* '''Motivation''' - Effective managers often use different types of motivation to influence subordinates and tailor assignments to suit them.

* How to anticipate peoples needs

* '''Leadership skills''' - These skills offer the&nbsp; ability to understand and communicate the company’s needs and inspire others to work diligently toward goals

* And more...

* '''Behavioral acknowledgements''' - Recognizing the behavior and perceptions of others enables managers to resolve conflicts, manage stress, improve themselves as well as others, and increase efficiency.

* [[Authentic leadership|'''Authentic Leadership''']] - Describes the ability to behave genuinely, regardless of hierarchical position or influence over subordinates.

* '''[[Cross-cultural leadership]]''' - Pertains to the ability to understand the effects of culture on leadership style.

* '''Setting clear expectations''' - AlongBy with communication skills comessetting clear expectations, and vocalizing exactly what needsactions toare berequired, donethe and when leaves little roomrisk forof misunderstandings and excusesmissed fordeadlines things not tocan be donemitigated.

* '''Consistent feedback''' -Soliciting and providing feedback ensures the performance rebalancing or acknowledgment of a job well done.

* '''Accepting imperfection-limitations''' -The ability to accept limitations and work off of or around them is an important skill that is beneficial in learning how to problem solve in a bindsolving.

== Managing up ==

===Managing up===

===How to position yourself to managing up===

There are several ways to go about influencing up and they all regard appealing to your boss. Turk suggests several different guidelines for managing up, including being loyal and committed,; understanding yourthe boss’s perspective and, agenda, understanding your boss’sand preferences,; providing solutions notinstead of problems,; and understanding yourone's own management style. Each of the different guidelines Turk provides serves an important benefit for both sides.<ref>Turk W (2007) Defense AT&L: March–April The Art of Managing Up</ref>

The Careers Group recommends “Understand“[understanding] where your work fits in with your manager’s goals and the wider goals of the organization”., Whichwhich comesis into playapplicable when your managers have their own projects to work on in addition to managing subordinates. Considering the challenges that managers face with their projects and working to either assist or stay out of the way when those projects require more attention is a smart tacticrecommended. Putting yourselfoneself in the position to be recognized as someone who can handle the work they were assigned and assist the manager in their work can be particularly beneficial when advocating for yourone's own projects. Figuring out where the work that youone wantwants to accomplish fits into the overall goals for the company is crucial to getting approval on those projects as well.<ref>The Careers Group (2010) Your Academic Career: Managing Professional Relationships University of London</ref>

According to Badowski, good managing up requires going above and beyond the tasks assigned to you so that you can enhance yourthe manager's work. DoingMaking what you can to make yourthe manager's job easier will not only help them do their job, but youthey will consider one to be considered a valuable asset to your managerthem and to yourthe organization. You want to be described as indispensable.<ref>Badowski R (2004) Managing Up: How to Forge an Effective Relationship With Those Above You</ref><ref>Garone E

(30 Oct 2008) Wall Street Journal What It Means to 'Manage Up'</ref>

Something to remember is to “be very clear about what job you were hired to do – and do it.”<ref name=Johnson>Johnson W (15 Dec 2014) Managing Up Without Sucking Up Harvard Business Review</ref>

A very important point to remember is “Be very clear about what job you were hired to do -and do it.” this is just one of three highlighted in the article Managing Up Without Sucking Up. The importance of this is, once you have established what it is that you were hired to do within the company and you do it you have fulfilled your duties anything additional that you work on is a bonus to your managers. With this achieved you can now begin to speak with your managers about the other things that you would like to do. With the right tactics, the problems and projects that you would like to take on become available to you.

===Communication===

Understand how yourthe manager likes to communicate. Price suggests appealing to yourthe managers' communication styles: “If he or she likes to communicate face-to-face rather than through email updates, then set up short meetings”meetings.” When you communicateCommunicating with yourthe manager in a way that they are receptive to they feelfeels as though time spent with you is well utilized and they will associate youone andwith yourproductivity.<ref>Price workS withIvy productivity.Exec Managing Up Without Kissing Up</ref>

=== Influencing up ===

Bradford introduces the idea of ''"influencing up''" where it may be possible for a subordinate without authority to influence those with authority.He delves into topics such as: creating a partnership between you and your boss and bridging the power gap. <ref>Bradford DL (2005) Influence Without Authority</ref>

== Managing down ==

===Tendencies that negatively affect employees===

*'''Always giving and never receiving feedback.''' Receiving, analyzing, and applying feedback from a managers perspective is just as important as giving it. Neglecting to give employees the opportunity to evaluate one's performance does not allow them to feel like their voice matters to the person directly overseeing their work.

*Always giving and never receiving feedback

*'''Micromanaging employees'''. Constantly checking the progress of employees can be uncomfortable and prove to be unproductive for both sides.

*Micromanaging employees

*'''Being inflexible'''. Neglecting to acknowledge circumstances affecting employees outside of work when making decisions can frustrate people and create a [[hostile work environment]].

*Being inflexible

*'''Not taking responsibility for the team as a whole'''. When managing a group the failures and successes can be attributed to the team's leader/manager, forfeiting the responsibility when the team fails is not good leadership.

*'''Lack of personal motivation'''. People pick up on the habits of the people managing them. A negative attitude towards one's work can spread to subordinates and create a lack of motivation in the company.

*Lack of personal motivation

===Tendencies that positively affect employees===

*'''Providing challenging work to stimulate employees'''. When employees are stimulated by their work they have more of an incentive to actively try to complete it versus mundane tasks that do not have any benefits.

*'''Supporting employees’ decisions'''. Encouraging and supporting the decisions that employees make can motivate employees who have low self-esteem and do not find motivation in the same things as their peers.

*Supporting employees’ decisions

*'''Coaching and developing employees’ skills'''. Taking the time to coach and develop the skills of the people one works around benefits both sides: one gets to learn these skills and the other has the opportunity to master these skills.

*Coaching and developing employees’ skills

*'''Encouraging good relationships'''. Encouraging employees to be vocal with each other about concerns and compliments promotes a culture where frustrations do not build up and cause delays in work.

*Encouraging good relationships

*'''Recognizing conflict and dealing with its causes'''. Recognizing the roots of employees' frustrations and working to fix them before they become a company-wide issue alleviates workplace tension and can establish a good morale with employees.

*Recognizing conflict and dealing with its causes

===KeySkills pointsrequired for managing down===

It is claimed that good managing down requires the following attributes:<ref>Ward nameWard ME, Zambito J (Nov 2013) The Bulletin Vol 81 Issue 6 Managing in All Directions: Up, Down, and Sideways</ref>

* Organization skills- Having strong organizational skills allow you to properly coordinate people and resources within your company.

* Communication skills- The ability to express your wants and needs to your employees in a clear and coordinated manner eliminates any misinterpretations.

* Motivation-Managers who understand that different people require types of motivation and cater their assignments toward them prove to be particularly effective.

* Leadership skills- The skills that managers and leaders require heavily overlap and the main focus in both sets is creating mutual trust and respect between you and your subordinates.

* Utilizing the right management style- Recognizing what your management style is, allows you to utilize it in a way that matches your employees’ motivation styles.

* Being authentic- Most adults can recognize a genuine person, and showing the people you work with that you are a trustworthy person who is reliable earns respect.

* Safe environments- Promoting a workplace culture that encourages everyone to feel comfortable with themselves and the work that they do reaps benefits for everyone.

* Setting clear expectations- Along with communication skills comes clear expectations, vocalizing exactly what needs to be done and when leaves little room for misunderstandings and excuses for things not to be done.

* Consistent feedback- Constantly reporting back to your employees on their performance allows you to work with them on problem areas before they become a habit and to analyze and applaud a job well done. Receiving feedback reaps the same benefits for managers as well.

* Accepting imperfection- The ability to accept limitations and work off of or around them is an important skill that is beneficial in learning how to problem solve in a bind.

==Conclusion==

===Benefits of effectively middle managing===

Both sides in every case benefit in some way when people choose to manage up and down. When you focus on creating value with the work you do for your managers and your company you benefit yourself with the skills you obtain in the process. When you choose to manage up you create a level of trust between you and your boss by being a reliable trustworthy employee, through doing this you learn about yourself and the type of person you are. When you effectively manage down you create better relationships with your employees and in turn, you can create a work culture that makes people feel valued in turn encouraging better work.

===Key points for managing up===

*Be clear about the job you were hired to do and do it

*Understand what job your boss was hired to do

*Remember that the people you work with are not family

*Figure out how your project fits into the company goals

*Provide solutions not problems

*Request feedback and use it

* '''Organization skills.''' Having strong organizational skills allows for proper coordination of staff and resources within the company.

===Key points for managing down===

* '''Communication skills'''. The ability to express wants and needs to employees in a clear and coordinated manner eliminates any misinterpretations.

*Fine tune leadership skills

* '''Motivation-'''. Managers who understand that different people require types of motivation and cater their assignments toward them prove to be particularly effective.

*Fine tune organization skills

* '''Leadership skills-'''. The skills that managers and leaders require heavily overlap and the main focus in both sets is creating mutual trust and respect between youone and yourone's subordinates.

*Give and receive feedback

* '''Utilizing the right management style-'''. Recognizing what yourone's management style is, allows youone to utilize it in a way that matches your employees’ motivation styles.

*Be clear about your expectations

* '''Being [[Authenticity (philosophy)|authentic-]]'''. Most adults can recognize a genuine person, and showing the people you work with that you arebeing a trustworthy person who is reliable earns respect.

*Recognize your employees' needs and adapt to them

* '''Safe environments-.''' Promoting a workplace culture that encourages everyone to feel comfortable with themselves and the work that they do reaps benefits for everyone.

* '''Setting clear expectations'''. Along with communication skills comes clear expectations, vocalizing exactly what needs to be done and when leaves little room for misunderstandings and excuses for things not to be done.

* '''Consistent feedback-'''. Constantly reporting back to your employees on their performance allows youone to work with them on problem areas before they become a habit and to analyze and applaud a job well done. Receiving feedback reaps the same benefits for managers as well.

* '''Accepting imperfection'''. The ability to accept limitations and work off of or around them is an important skill that is beneficial in learning how to problem solve in a bind.

== References ==

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* Smullen FW (2014) Ways and Means of Managing Up: 50 Strategies for Helping You and Your Boss Succeed

* (1984) Managing Up, Managing Down: How to be a Better Manager and get What You Want from your boss and Your Staff

* DuBrin, Andrew J. Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. Cengage Learning, 2016.

'''Journal articles'''

* Austin{{cite MJ (1989)journal |doi=10.1300/J147v12n04_03|title=Managing Up: Relationship Building Between Middle Management and Top Management |year=1989 |last1=Austin |first1=Michael J. |journal=Administration in Social Work Vol |volume=12, Issue |issue=4, P29|pages=29–46 |name-list-46style=vanc}}

* {{cite journal |pmid= 3634970|year= 1986|last1= Salmen|first1= SH,S. H.|last2= Hagen|first2= B,.|last3= Patacky|first3= M. (1986)|title= Managing down-staffing. Journal of|journal= Nursing Management.|volume= May;17(|issue= 5):|pages= P3333–36 |name-6.list-style=vanc}}

==External links==