Managing Up

Introduction

THERE ARE LITERALLY tens of thousands of books written on how to be an effective leader and manager. You heard me, tens of thousands. But clearly all these books haven't made too much of an impression on many managers since the number one reason people quit their jobs is still because of their boss. Year after year, studies show that the most common reason people leave their employer is due to having a bad boss or having a bad relationship with their boss.

Could there really be so many bad bosses out there? Are all these books written in some secret code that's impossible to crack? Or is it that we just don't know how to deal with difficult bosses? Could it be that we have failed to highlight and teach a far more important strategy – how to manage those who manage us?

Yes, it could. While there are thousands of books (and TED talks, conferences, YouTube videos, etc.) on how to lead and manage downward, there is very little out there on a far, far more important skill – how to manage up. In other words, how to be a successful follower.

There I said it. The “F” word. Follower. Nobody likes to think of himself as a follower. I get it. Even writing it makes me throw up a little in my mouth. In America, we love‐love‐love leaders. We talk incessantly about leadership. We preach it, we teach it, we hit everyone over the head with it. We are obsessed with it. But in the real world, where most of us actually live and work, we need to know how to follow, too. We need to ...