If I had an orange for every moment I wasted trying to get the attention of my manager, I would be able to open up my own juice company. It wasn't until graduate school that I learned it was my responsibility to manage that relationship. But hey, at least I learned this. There are many others who are spinning their wheels everyday at work. Many of these people reside in your organization.
Now imagine how much more productive your organization would be if your people developed the skills necessary to manage up. The time they are currently wasting could be re-directed to launching new products and services. They would be able to dedicate more time to increase their relationships with customers. Stress levels would take a nose dive, along with your health insurance premiums.
I'd love for you to share your thoughts on this topic and perhaps offer some first-hand stories on mistakes you may have made early on in your career (or that you are still making) when it comes to managing relationships above you.
In the mean time, I have just put together a half-day workshop to help people in organizations Manage Up in a Top Down World. The info will be on my website (www.yourhrexperts.com) shortly. If you are interested, let me know and I'll send you the information before it goes public. I'm also offering an introductory rate for this session that is 1/3 off my regular fees for any company that signs up before September 1st and schedules the session prior to December 31, 2010!
Happy Summer!
