The Importance of managing your manager

By its definition, to manage means many different things depending on parts of speech and usage. In regards to the business world, to manage means ‘to direct the professional career of.’ In the workplace, our managers tend to be more senior and have a higher degree of experience. So we show great deference to those who lead us - we assume that the job of management belongs to those perceived to be at the helm and that because they lead, their way and their timetable is the correct way to get work done. 

For years, I held this common belief. This belief that I must do my work the best way I know how in accordance or lockstep with how my manager expects it to be done. I believed my manager’s job was to validate that the work produced is done to her acceptable standard. The common belief that this manager must and will check in on me if, let’s say, I have missed the deliverable’s deadline. Or my perfectionism got in the way and I simply did not want to show my work until it was fully complete. Or what’s worse, my manager ascribes the amount of time it would take for him to get the same job done on to me and set that level of expectation that is hard for me to successfully reach.

In this mediocrity, I learned a lesson. I began to realize that if I completed my work up to my manager’s expectations, then I was just doing my job. That type of work in the corporate world is called satisfactory or meets expectations. I was completing the job description. I was never ahead of schedule. Sometimes I’d wait for my manager’s reminder of work due on her desk - as a perfectionist, that was a sign to speed up the end of the assignment to hit that deadline. In both satisfactory cases, I was being managed to a deadline. What’s so curious about this method of work completion is that after some amount of tenure with my leader, I absolutely understood when to expect their request to hit the deadline. There were even times when I had the work prepared, but still waited for the manager to ask for it. I was waiting to be managed.

As is often the case with many roles that have some level of repetition, the work you do gets done quicker. Yet for some reason, I still held on to completed work until my manager asked for it. Not to suggest that some sort of lightbulb went off in my head (because it did not), but one day I decided I was going to demonstrate to my manager that I do in fact get work done quicker than when they request it. So I submitted my assignment early…before my manager asked for it. I noticed from my manager a smile representing a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed this personal satisfaction I received from her response. So, I did it again. And again. And again. For non-regularly scheduled work, I was able to anticipate when my manager might need my completed assignment and hand it to her in advance.

My performance reviews began to say things like anticipates needs and above expectations. I was improving in my role - or at bare minimum, the perception of my work had improved. I set a new goal for myself which was to beat the deadline! For regularly scheduled work, that was a pretty easy thing to do. Until I had one really unique scenario arise that caused me to think about what to do next. I felt I was accurately anticipating a deadline, but my work was not understandable - in good enough shape that my manager could understand what work had been completed. I didn’t feel comfortable submitting subpar work just to hit a deadline. So I took a deep breath and gave my manager the best update I could give. “I know this assignment is due soon, but I do not foresee having it done. I’m missing a set of numbers which will delay my analysis by a couple of days. I’m sorry.” Expecting repercussions, the response from my manager was anything but. “Thank you for letting me know in advance, Jaramogi. Take the time you need - you’ve been pretty spot on with your deliverables recently. I’ll give my manager the head’s up that we’ll be delayed.” My ability to give my manager an update gave my manager the ability to give her manager an update. She was managing her manager. And for the first time, so had I. 

What’s the lesson from this story? At work, instead of waiting to be managed, figure out the best way to manage your manager. You will find it builds trust and competence in ways that will catapult your career. Here are the 3 keys to managing your manager. 

Key #1

Take an agile approach to producing your work. Oftentimes we develop a way of work akin to how we’ve grown up submitting school work. You start with question 1 and finish with question 10. Or you start with the intro paragraph and you end with the closing argument. In the work world, we have to treat our work like products that we deliver to our customers. They might not be perfect during the first iteration, but at least the customer (and in this case, your manager) can develop a vision for the final product and even advise you to continue or course correct before you’ve spent too much time building something they don’t want.

Key #2

Measure and communicate. If a deliverable is due in a week and after 2 days, you cannot foresee completing your work on time. Check in with your manager, show the work or at bare minimum the thought you have given to the deliverable and let your manager know a revised timeline. In that way, your manager can either give you more time or decide the deadline is critical and provide advice as to where and how to cut corners to hit the deadline. This is a really effective tool in managing your manager.

Key #3

Key #3: Set expectations with Integrity. It’s one thing to communicate to a leader when a piece of work will be done, it’s another skill entirely to be self-aware of your ability to get the work done and do it on time as promised. If you set deadlines and miss them, you will harm your credibility and brand - these two things can take a really long time to rebuild when tarnished. With a reputation for missing deadlines, you put yourself in a position to be micromanaged which is in the opposite direction of where you want to be. So become an expert and estimating how long it takes you to do a piece of work, add a little time buffer*, if needed and execute on your deliverable.

One trick is to set a deadline for End of Day. Most managers (but definitely not all so choose carefully) will treat the end of day the same as the next morning. So if you are not finished by 5pm, make sure you submit before 9am the next day - not ideal for work-life balance, but that will buy you some much needed time.