Managing down: How to become the boss everyone looks up to

Some weeks ago I wrote about how I became my boss’ got-to person and the story would not be complete without sharing the things my manager did that made it easy for me to work with him. Over time, my manager and I developed an effective working relationship that enabled us do great work together and deliver outstanding results for our organization. My manager successfully created an environment that was conducive to team work, collaboration, innovation and brought out the best in me.  It was not a perfect relationship, we had differences of opinion on some things, but it came close to being perfect. 

There are two things that are important to me when choosing a job.  These are manager capability/chemistry and job content.  Manager ca pability/chemistry simply refers to the ability of my manager to lead me in accomplishing personal and organizational goals and his capacity to build a trust-based working relationship with me.  Job content refers to the degree of intellectual stimulation, challenge, and development opportunity that a job will provide me.  At the time I was working with my manager, I did not think the job content was great but I believed, and said, that my manager’s leadership and management capabilities compensated for what was lacking in job content.   Outlined below are the qualities my manager possessed that kept me in his corner, committed, loyal and giving the best of me for three years.

Work Ethics: My manager always set a good example for me to follow. He arrived at work earlier than most and left on time, to maintain a good balance between life and work.  He did not deliver sub-standard work outputs; neither did he tolerate it from members of his team.  Quality and stakeholder satisfaction were important to him and he made it a team priority. He drummed into me the mindset that as a finance business partner, my credibility is established when the financial information I present to business leaders are accurate and irrefutable, and I can speak with insight about the underlying business drivers behind the numbers.  

Communication: My manager and I developed a great working rapport.  He kept me informed of organizational priorities and business changes and ensured that I understood how these impacted our team.  Although we had regular formal one-to-one meetings, my manager frequently stopped by my office to “catch up” and “synch”, rather than rely on phone calls or emails only.  He also took the time to clearly communicate his expectations of me and provide me with prompt feedback on my performance.  I never felt that my manager was hiding information from me and that made me trust in his leadership.

Effective Delegation: My manager was great at assigning more responsibility to me and giving me opportunities to stretch my capacity and strengthen my skills. Once I established credibility and a solid track record with him, he gave me autonomy and authority to own and drive my projects. He did not micromanage me, rather he allowed me to innovate and make tactical decisions as I saw fit. Under his leadership I started leading key finance initiatives and transitioned from an individual contributor to a people manager, which was in line with my career plans. 

Participatory Decision Making : I developed a great deal of respect and appreciation for my manager when he walked into my office one day and asked me if I was interested in performing a task that one of his peers had requested that I work on. I thought about it and said no, providing my rationale. He agreed that it was the right decision and went back to turn down his colleague. I really appreciated the fact that he involved me in decisions that impacted me.  It made me feel like we were a team.

Recognition: This was a key driver of my motivation and commitment to deliver high quality work for my manager.  He always recognized and appreciated the effort I put into my work, and made sure that the management team was also aware.  On one occasion, when I was tasked with preparing monthly executive management reports on business performance, I decided to move from a PowerPoint deck format to a newsletter format. When my manager saw the newsletter, he stopped by my office with a smile on his face and told me I had done a great job. I later became a reference standard for excellence in the wider organization. My manager was my brand advocate and while working with him I was promoted, received a performance award, as well as the best rating possible in the company. 

Becoming a high performance team can be likened to a collaborative sport that requires the combined commitment and dedication of all members of the team.  A symbiotic relationship between you and your manager is a critical success driver for you, your manager and your organization.