Leading Up
Leadership responsibility is typically associated with leading followers. Two less discussed aspects of leadership is in the leading of peers and leading up (leading your boss). John Maxwell goes into depth on each of these subjects in his book tilted, The 360 Degree Leader. This blog post is based on my interpretation of his ideology.
In my opinion, the most difficult of the aforementioned three leadership propositions is in leading up. This requires effectively earning a very high level of trust and respect from your superiors as to gain greater influence over the decisions that are being made that will directly impact your part of the organization. Leading up is the equivalent of taking your thoughts and ideas and making them the thoughts and ideas of your superior. The way to pave the road to this high level of trust as to gain influence on our leader's decisions requires continued excellence across multiple areas of your performance including the following.
- You must be completely performing your professional responsibilities.
- Be a problem solver, not just the identifier.
- Don't be a "yes man." Give your leader the type of feedback that will allow for better decision making.
- Demonstrate an excellent work ethic (be a heavy lifter).
- If privately you disagree with your leader's decisions (behind closed doors discussions), publicly you must present these thoughts and ideas as if they are your own.
- Always, without conditions and in all situations, be supportive of your leader and never, ever speak negatively about who they are, what they do, or decisions that they make.
When you give your leader respect, even when you might not fully agree with their decisions you earn higher degrees of trust and respect from your leader. This in-turn will increase the amount of influence you will have over future decisions to be made that directly impact the direction your business is headed.
"I learned that a great leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don`t want to do and like it."
Harry S. Truman 1884-1972, 33rd president of the U.S.
How much time are you investing in effectively leading up? Are you regarded as a "heavy lifter" by your superiors?
1 comment:
This response is for the blog on May 3rd, but as a person who is very involved in their business it is difficult to read the blog every day. In respect to that; I consider myself a person who has increased my leadership skills and knowledge through actively listening and reading information. This blog has a lot of great points, but I feel one was left out and this point is increasingly more important in every aspect of business. I am talking about HONESTY. Being honest with your superiors in regards to your business, be it good news or bad, has allowed me to share my ideas with success. I believe I encompass the other qualities discussed, but being honest has gained me greater respect and trust with my leaders as well as the people I lead. If you don’t acquire that respect and trust through honest interactions with those you work for and those you lead, then as Harry Truman advocates, your ability to get others to accept your leadership, vision, and path to success will be somewhat dimmed by their lack of enthusiasm to your ideas and influence.
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