Welcome to issue No. 075 of the Lever

I hate the phrase "managing up".

It sounds gross and prideful. Like your boss is a problem to be solved for.

It implies incompetence, and that only YOU have the knowledge and skills needed to "save the day".

And it gives you a convenient out when things go wrong.

"I've been telling them that! If only they'd listened to ME."

But the reality of your relationship with your boss is far more nuanced than that.

And your upward communication needs a far less petulant approach if you are going to be truly effective.

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Who Is Your Client?

You think that your clients are your clients. And that’s true - to an extent.

They order the work. You deliver the work. They pay the company. The company pays you.

You think that process makes them your client because they pay you.

But it’s not because of the money.

It’s because of the Expectation.

You have promised something to them - set an expectation. And you are rewarded as a business when you deliver on that promise and meet that expectation.

But doesn’t your boss also have expectations based on the promise implied by your very position?

Internal Clients

In some of the really big companies I work with there are entire departments that act as consultants for other departments in the same company.

Work is called out and paid for by these internal clients.

So if you remove money from the equation and focus on the value exchange you can see who your clients really are:

This means:

• Anyone using your output as their input
• Anyone you have set an expectation of value with
• And yes, anyone who pays you to deliver value for the company

The Communication Gap

The issue is one of communication.

Because you fail to see your boss as an internal client with expectations to be met, you fail in communicating with them effectively.

This is because you don’t truly understand their expectations.

You need to close this communication gap.

And the reality of the power dynamic makes this YOUR responsibility, not theirs.

Communicating Up

Instead of trying to “manage up” start “communicating up”.

This requires a different strategy, and a few foundational pieces to get in place.

1. Meet Expectations

To meet expectations you must understand the expectations.

A critical first step when starting a new client project is clearly defining the Scope of Work.

And your baseline scope of work is simply doing your job. But deliver your work:

• On time
• To value
• Without complaint

Note that I didn’t say without Problems.

Shit happens, and part of the Expectation is that you solve them or ask for help before they get out of control.

But be cool. Don’t complain.

2. Exceed Expectations

Now think about the second level expectations.

What does your boss need to deliver? Who is their client? What do they really want?

Help them achieve that.

My boss has a number he wants to see each week. Its maybe not the best number as it doesn’t standardize across divisions, but he likes it.

So I deliver it.

3. Play the Long Game

Last is to understand communication styles, work with it, and start playing the long game.

In an entrepreneurial company your boss is likely the founder. They’ve done every job, worked very hard, and probably made a lot of it up as they went.

Recognize that and understand that change comes slow.

If you want something changed - start early.

Introduce new language, new concepts, new ideas well before you need them.

Prime the future conversation.

Stop Managing Up

Start Communicating up.

You need to meet people where they are. Meet their expectations. Meet their communication style.

Play the long game. Approach it strategically. Good communication is chess, not checkers.

Organizational change comes slow. Altering course on a large ship takes time.

But master this skill and you’ll have control of your career in the palm of your hand.