Managing Up

When communicating with an executive, the topic is typically planning, reporting on status, or resolving misalignment. More complex projects get derailed by personal conflict than by technical complexity.

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” ― Plato.

Imagine an entire company made up of only software engineers. Imagine all the decisions being made based on metrics. This seems like a perfect environment, yet, that’s not how companies work, and that’s not how human beings work.

Understanding someone is far more important than replying to someone. Anyone can respond, and few can understand. Partnering with your manager is better than disappointing them when you need to meet your expectations.

Managing up is about increasing bandwidth and reducing friction between you and your manager. If you’re deliberate in your approach, you’ll be able to influence your organization’s leaders over time. Still, you’ll only get that time if you learn to remain in tight alignment at each step.

Logic and Culture have nothing to do with one another. Culture doesn’t make sense to anyone from the outside. Culture is common sense to anyone embedded in it. To understand and work with middle management, let go of trying to make sense of it.

Observe it and see what’s there. After that, logic might help find ways to work inside or even change it. Map what it is. Then think about moving it toward what you want.

Miscommunication creates latency rather than errors. Writing forces you to think about your beliefs and data. Write everything down. Nothing destroys trust faster than surprising your manager. Feed your manager’s context with all your findings and solidify your position as a partner.