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Four Questions to Ask When You Manage Up
We can integrate a “manage up” working relationship with our supervisor when we start asking these four questions.
Last week, I spoke with a graduate student who is enrolled in the same master's degree program I completed over 20 years ago, as part of a mentor/mentee program I joined. We chat once a month and discuss the challenges he is facing and how to prepare for upcoming job searches. We landed on one issue early in our discussion that helped focus this week’s post.
He discussed how his current supervisor, whom he likes working for, doesn’t communicate deadlines or expectations clearly. This reminded me of my own time as a new professional and I quickly turned our chat into a professional development moment. Among the strategies we discussed, we talked about using a ‘managing up’ method. I’ve written about how to manage up in previous posts, which will help new readers learn about the concept.
But when talking to a new staff member or a graduate student, it may be easier to prep them with questions to ask a supervisor. Below are the four sets of questions I have found most useful when starting a managing up the relationship in the office.
Four Questions to Manage Up
When considering a “managing up” relationship in the workplace, it is important to…
