More Impact, More Easily

11System eleven: Managing up

I used to have a very awkward relationship with my executives. I felt shy and awkward in their presence. My normal levels of confidence dropped like a stone. I got tongue‐tied and behaved like a junior manager, which I was not. Embarrassing.

I had a similar reaction to public speaking. I tripped over my words, and once even tripped up the stairs to the podium. Even today, I still have a ‘tell’ that shows my discomfort on the stage — my left ear gets hot and goes bright red. (Watch out for it next time — but keep it secret from those around you, please.)

You are nearly at the end of the Systems of Impact. You have started to take your leadership to a new level of mastery. As you do so, very senior executives will invite you to more meetings. The board will ask you to present results or ideas, and you'll increasingly need to pitch important business cases. Event organisers will ask you to speak at corporate conferences and other companies will invite you to share your approach. Your confidence and visibility is in a far stronger place. You've earned that. But you may still struggle to manage up — lots of leaders do, and it's a place of awkward emotions for many. Some see managing up as sucking up.

But if I can overcome my ‘shyness’, ignore my ‘tells’ and learn to manage up deliberately and successfully, then so can you. In this chapter, I show you how. But let's start with what can happen when you don't.

IF YOU PLAY AT LEVEL, YOU'LL STAY AT LEVEL ...