The Centre recently hosted a professional development webinar on good practices in managing-up.

The webinar was hosted by Centre Director Wayne Burns and Robert Hadler, former General Manager of Corporate Affairs at Coles Limited and NAB.

The speakers accentuated the importance of maintaining amiable relationships within the workplace, and the importance of eschewing ‘turf’ wars’, by actively seeking shared wins.

Collaboration is a key element to successfully managing up. The ability to work and collaborate across other management functions will be noticed and appreciated.

Knowledge of how your boss processes information and knowing what her/his KPIs are and what steps she/he takes to achieve them is key.

It is critical to stay current and possess knowledge of current affairs and events, especially happenings within one’s area of expertise.

Seeking guidance on where you could be focusing your development and actively looking for opportunities will help facilitate effective managing-up.

The webinar accentuated six golden rules of managing-up:

1. Know your boss;

2. establish ground rules;

3. manage your boss;

4. be a valued business partner;

5. be specific; and,

6. build your networks.

Finally, taking control of your own professional development, being open about your goals, and actively and openly discussing this with your boss is imperative.