Build 360 Degree Relationships —Don’t Just Manage Up
Everyone knows leaders who “manage up.” To be clear, we all have bosses and need to navigate those relationships in order to be successful. That is not what I mean… I am talking about those leaders who do not treat their peers, their teams and/or their subordinates well, but do all the “right” things when it comes to senior leadership. While this may feel like a good strategy, in the long run it does not typically end well.
Hopefully, treating everyone with respect comes naturally to most of us and we do it simply because it is the right way to behave. But if not, then do it because it is an important leadership trait that can have a direct impact on your career trajectory. Reputation and professional brand matter. Good leaders solicit and listen to others’ ideas, share information, teach/develop more junior employees, provide constructive (but compassionate) feedback, work inclusively, and give credit to others for successes. In addition to the intrinsic value that comes from helping to develop and promote other careers, engaging in this type of behavior engenders loyalty, builds successful teams and generates superior output. As a result, by building others up, leaders both develop a good reputation and look good to senior leadership because of the successes their teams have individually and collectively.
In addition, relationships matter and building them is essential. As a practical matter, we all spend a lot of time at work and having good relationships simply makes that time more enjoyable. But if that is not a motivator for you, then remember that cultivating relationships and building a stakeholder network is essential to a long and successful career. Inevitably, we will need support from others at some point in our careers --whether within or outside of our functions--and having good relationships with those stakeholders will be critical to getting that support. Significantly, these stakeholders exist at all levels of the organization, including (and sometimes especially) the support staff, whose help is often needed to get things done. As it is impossible to know when or from whom we will need that support, cultivating relationships with others at all levels of the organization simply makes good professional sense. You do not want to be in a situation where the one person who is critical to a key initiative is also the person you embarrassed on a group call months ago.
While treating others respectfully and building 360 relationships is critical to long-term career success, only focusing on managing up can sideline your career. Leaders who spend all of their time trying to impress their bosses, while treating others poorly, taking credit for others’ ideas, bad mouthing peers and/or failing to build relationships, will almost surely fail in the long run for many reasons. First, bosses leave organizations and their successors may not appreciate (or even tolerate) this kind of behavior. Second, senior leadership will ultimately learn of a leader’s bad reputation, which can be career limiting (if not ending) regardless of technical successes. Finally, people move around within and outside of an organization and, as a result, having a reputation as a poor leader (or worse, a bully) can have long-term and far-reaching implications.
If you are wondering whether you are a leader who only manages up or one who is respectful and supportive of others at all levels, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you bring team members to important meetings/provide them with visibility to senior leadership--or do you take those opportunities for yourself?
Do you prepare your team members for those big meetings by prepping and role-playing with them to maximize their chances of success-- or do you let them sink or swim on their own?
Are you respectful in meetings, even when you believe that what is being said is not relevant/useful, and provide feedback later in private—or do you give public feedback?
Do you provide constructive feedback to team members for the purpose of making them better and in a direct, but compassionate way—or do you provide that feedback in ways that the recipient find demotivating or demoralizing?
Do you take the time to share your knowledge with team members and colleagues-- or do you use information as power?
Do you provide credit for your team’s successes to senior leadership—or do you take the credit for yourself (by saying nothing about your team)?
Do you build up and support your team/colleagues to senior management—or are you unnecessarily critical in an effort to bolster yourself?
I saw all of these traits, both positive and negative, in the various roles I held during my career. In the worst cases, leaders had complaints filed against them and/or developed bad reputations, derailing their careers. In the best cases, I saw individuals rise through the ranks despite not always having the best domain experience because of their outstanding leadership skills.
I have also seen well-meaning leaders who tried to do the right thing for their team members but failed to provide the right level of support, which ultimately hurt them and their team members (e.g., do not recommend a team member to present to the Board without providing the necessary support to ensure that team member does well). The bottom line is developing and fostering strong 360 degree relationships, treating everyone with respect and supporting, lifting up and showcasing your team will be both personally satisfying and professionally rewarding.
