Mastering the art of “managing up.”
5 tips on how to improve your work life through guiding your leadership.
As product managers, we often find ourselves at the intersection of various teams, stakeholders, and, importantly, our managers.
At times, we need to level up our abilities in a way that not only helps in the day-to-day with our dev teams, but we also need to be able to help steer our leadership teams.
Whether it’s internal support to push features through prioritization, reprioritizing team members’ focus on ensuring you can ship a feature on time, or even better understanding how to push them in a direction for a promotion — all of these are enabled/made easier when you’re able to “manage upwards” within your organization.
Today, let’s dive into some strategies for managing up, a skill that can dramatically elevate our impact and career progression.
Building Trust with Your Manager
Trust is the cornerstone of any relationship, including that with our managers.
Our days as product managers are often unpredictable, but one thing should remain constant: consistent and open communication with our managers.
It is vital to keep them in the loop, whether a quick sync-up meeting or a detailed project update.
It’s not just about making time for these interactions; it’s about being transparent with our challenges and successes.
By demonstrating reliability and integrity in our approach, we create a foundation of trust that can weather any storm.
Understanding Your Manager’s Goals and Objectives
To effectively manage upwards, we must align our work with our manager’s goals and, by extension, their leaders’ goals.
This alignment is not about losing our project’s essence but understanding the bigger picture and how our work fits it.
As product managers, we’re storytellers.
Let’s use this skill to weave our projects into the broader narrative of the company’s objectives, creating a win-win scenario for us and our managers.
Advocating for Your Team or Projects
Our role often requires us to be the voice of our team and our projects.
Consistency and a comprehensive understanding of our project’s scope and impact are key when communicating with upper management.
It’s our job to paint our team’s efforts in the best light, highlighting successes and learning opportunities.
Remember, advocating effectively means negotiating for resources or support when needed, always aligning with the company’s strategic direction.
Networking and Building Relationships within the Company
Product management is as much about managing relationships as it is about managing products.
Extending our networking beyond our immediate leadership to other stakeholders and teams within the company is crucial.
These relationships can provide invaluable insights and support for our projects and help us understand the company’s dynamics.
This network is not just for immediate benefits; it’s an investment that can pay dividends in prioritization, resource allocation, and navigating company politics.
Understanding Corporate Culture and Politics
Every company has its unique culture and politics.
As product managers, understanding these nuances can significantly aid our approach to managing up.
Building relationships across various departments and levels helps us gain allies and understand different perspectives.
However, it’s important to use these connections judiciously and ensure they remain mutually beneficial.
Our role is to be a bridge between our team and upper management and across the organization.
Final Thoughts
Managing up is an art that, when mastered, can open doors to personal success and that of our teams and projects.
It’s about communication, understanding, advocacy, networking, and strategic relationship-building.
As product managers, these skills are not just nice to have; they’re essential tools in our arsenal to drive success and make a lasting impact in our roles.
Do you have some tips on how you manage up? Please comment below and share with our growing community of 350+ subscribers.
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Originally published at https://www.productparty.us.
