433: How to Start Managing Up, with Tom Henschel

Tom Henschel: The Look & Sound of Leadership

Tom Henschel of Essential Communications grooms senior leaders and executive teams. An internationally recognized expert in the field of workplace communications and self-presentation, he has helped thousands of leaders achieve excellence through his work as an executive coach and his top-rated podcast, The Look & Sound of Leadership.

Recently, I’ve received a number of questions about “managing up” and “coaching up.” In this conversation, Tom and I discuss the art and practice of managing up, how it is different than coaching up, and where to focus your mindset and time for the best results to influence effectively.

Key Points

• Managing up happens when you want to influence how you’re perceived by your manager. Coaching up happens when you want to create change in the relationship with your manager.
• A useful phrase to start with when speaking truth to power: “I think differently about that…”
• Set aside the emotion when addressing a business issue and lead with data and evidence.
• “Appeal to the nobler motives.” -Dale Carnegie
• Come to the table with solutions — or at least a first step. Most people know this rule, but far fewer do it consistently.
• Ask yourself: how is my boss being measured for success?
• A cardinal rule when managing up: take more off your boss’s plate that you add to it.

Bonus Audio

• How is your boss being measured?

Resources Mentioned

• How to Win Friends and Influence People* by Dale Carnegie
• Managing Your Boss by John Gabarro and John Kotter

Related Episodes

• How to Handle a Boss Who’s a Jerk, with Tom Henschel (episode 164)
• Managing Up (The Look & Sound of Leadership)
• Managing Your Boss (The Look & Sound of Leadership)
• Upward Feedback (The Look & Sound of Leadership)
• Green Lights Always Change (Dave’s Journal)

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