Have you ever had a great idea at work, but weren’t quite sure how to raise it with your manager?
Or perhaps you need something from someone more senior, but you’re not sure how to have that conversation.
In our latest Ninja Skill Booster, we explored some practical ways to do exactly that.
Start with a simple relationship audit
Before trying to improve a relationship, it’s worth understanding where you are now.
Think about one senior person who has an impact on your role. It could be your direct manager, a senior leader, a project sponsor or someone else further up the organisation.
Then ask yourself two simple questions:
How do I see them? and
How do they see me?
That second question can be surprisingly difficult to answer. Perhaps you’ve never asked them for feedback, maybe they don’t really know what you do, or perhaps you simply haven’t had many opportunities to connect.
A simple relationship audit can help you spot those gaps and start thinking about what you could do differently.
Get to know their style
We all communicate and work differently.
Your manager might be very detailed and fact-based. They might want the numbers, the evidence and the specifics. Or perhaps they’re more interested in the bigger picture and where things are heading.
Neither approach is right or wrong. But if you understand their style, you can think about how you might adapt your own approach.
It’s not about changing who you are. It’s about becoming flexible enough to build a better connection.
And while you’re doing that, get curious about the person behind the role.
How well do you actually know them?
What matters to them?
What are they trying to achieve?
What are they proud of?
What pressures might they be dealing with?
Finding some common ground can make working relationships much easier. It can also help us understand how we can communicate and contribute more effectively.
Think big picture
There’s another useful shift when it comes to managing up: start thinking about the bigger picture.
That doesn’t mean taking over your manager’s role or pretending to be the CEO. It’s about understanding what sits above your own day-to-day work.
What’s the vision?
What’s the mission?
What are the objectives?
What’s the strategy? and
Where does your work fit?
When you understand that bigger picture, you can start bringing ideas and solutions that connect with where the organisation is trying to go. You can think one step further and contribute at a different level.
Watch the Ninja Skill Booster
There’s plenty more in the full session, including the relationship audit, practical behaviours for managing up and the VMOST model.
Watch the Managing Up Ninja Skill Booster on YouTube
And if this is something you’d like to explore more deeply with your team, our Managing Upwards workshop takes these ideas much further, with practical activities to help people build stronger relationships, communicate more effectively and contribute with greater confidence.
