When asked, most people want to raise their profile in their company. They want to be noticed, rewarded and appreciated. If you truly want to be recognized with a promotion or award, making your clients happy is not enough. Developing connections with colleagues, senior executives and your boss is what brings about the recognition. Here are some tips for in person communication. (This is the last of three blogs about managing up for young leadership.)
How do you get ahead in your job? Managing down and managing up. Many professionals have said that working with their team is often fairly straightforward and rewarding. It’s the managing of their boss and other senior executives, that is more challenging. For more junior staff, the guidelines for managing up can be even more slippery and the concept completely new. How do you earn the trust of your boss and become valuable to them so you receive the rewards you treasure?
In a team sport, the adrenaline flows fast and easy because there’s a shared natural purpose to want to win. Faced with a survival type of situation whether real or fabricated like in scouts, outward bound, etc. everyone wants to get out of a tough unfamiliar environment. Grouped together in a “Escape Room” people strive to solve the puzzle and escape. Work or volunteer situations, the natural motivation for a closely knit group is not as obvious. Is it realistic to expect group members at work or with unpaid work to be enthusiastic and want to work together?
It’s worth it to make an effort to learn about and appreciate each person you work with. You want the best for and from them, and they will only show you that best if they know someone cares enough to see it. Furthermore, their dedication and engagement in work comes from being happy and being seen as full individuals. You could be responsible for the individuals on your team being encouraged or discouraged. When people are dissatisfied, they leave their bosses not their jobs.
That sports team is your organization. The right players to fill in those crucial voids are your people and the game plan is the strategy that allows your organization to continue to thrive. The time to evaluate and think about succession strategy is now. Do you have those rookies with potential, or seasoned athletes who are still strong players? And, if so, how do you keep them from being traded? Knowing the country is at full employment, and opportunities come knocking, how do you keep them loyal and poised to play?
Have you ever felt someone couldn’t resist the temptation to show how knowledgeable they are – and put you down in the process? Sometimes that’s true. However, there may be more to it. Could your ego be getting in the way of learning something valuable? Mine was. And it made me wonder what I was missing. In some cases, it was the opportunity to reach potential clients.
With gratitude to the 16 young leaders who let me into their honest opinions. I asked them, “What is the respectful environment that allows you to perform at their best? Describe it.” These are the responses I received.
What are the best questions to ask in choosing our next President? Looking at four previous Presidents who’ve led the country through challenging times, and as described by masterful biographer, Doris Kearns Goodwin, we examine their similarities and differences. Can their qualities be the best indicator for our future?
