Effective at Managing Up

Most likely, your manager is not fully aware of the extent of your contributions. A recent HBR study unveils a disconcerting reality - on average, managers only retain 60% of their teams' efforts. This alarming revelation (especially relevant now during annual talent reviews), underscores the downsides of managers relying solely on intuition, judgment, and experience. Shockingly, in an extreme case, a manager was found to accurately describe only 4% of their team's work. McKinsey attributes the challenges of information overload and task volume as reasons managers often overlook crucial details.

Managers need to take action. To close the knowledge gap, managers should proactively improve their understanding through consistent, open communication with their teams. Those who transparently engage and remain accessible are better equipped to understand the complexity of ongoing projects. Despite the belief among companies that returning to the office will cover these communication gaps, compelling evidence contradicts this assumption.

The reality is that we are the ones who should take the lead by "managing up." This proactive approach ensures that contributions don't go unnoticed. To achieve this, we should actively communicate project updates, achievements, and challenges with our managers. Managing up isn't about boosting egos but a strategic approach to enhance communication, collaboration, and overall productivity. Key tactics include regular updates and adapting to the manager's communication style, empowering a more informed and productive work environment while ensuring all of our efforts are recognized.

How to communicate effectively with your manager? During your Weekly Review, recap every detail of how and where your time was spent, and organize the information into themes for clarity - avoid presenting a laundry list to your manager. If your manager is "too busy" for a face-to-face discussion, send the detailed agenda as an email. When structuring your 1-to-1, cover key points such as:

• Main Focus Areas: Align current activities with established goals, confirming that your priorities still align with organizational objectives.

• Progress Towards Deliverables: Provide clear updates, ensuring transparency and facilitating adjustments.

• Plans and Priorities for Next Week: Maintain a forward-looking perspective.

• Highlight Achievements: Seek guidance on communicating them as organizational successes. This will in turn give you positive exposure.

• Challenges and Roadblocks: Be candid and surface current challenges. Actively seek assistance where needed.

• Time-Consuming Tasks: Highlight the percentage of your week not directly spent on priorities. Propose strategies to reduce them if they consume a significant portion of your bandwidth. Some common examples are activities like: unblocking team members, attending status update meetings, or dealing with inefficient systems.

Highlighting "Time-Consuming Tasks" is crucial to ensures that your manager comprehends the breadth of your responsibilities. It prevents overestimation of your capacity for upcoming projects and sheds light on often unnoticed yet crucial tasks. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to crafting a 1-to-1 agenda (here are some examples), the central idea is to remember to incorporate the details of everything you are doing in an aggregated form.

The devil is in the details,

Jorge Luis Pando

"The best managers are those who have a knack for clear communication. It fosters a positive work environment and boosts team morale." - Peter Drucker, Management Consultant and Author