Get to Know Your Boss’s Boss

by Priscilla Claman

Does your boss’s boss know you well? Is she impressed with you? Does she know exactly what you do? If you can’t answer these questions with a “yes,” you’re missing out on career opportunities.

Here’s a person with a broad perspective on your organization, someone who can see what’s coming down the pike—whether it’s a new product or a reorg—more clearly than you or your boss can. Forming a relationship with her will help you develop a 30,000-foot view, too. But it’s more than that. She has a direct say in your growth and advancement. She approves your performance reviews, raises, promotions, and major changes in duties. She also signs off on any professional development you might be offered, such as stretch assignments or formal training.

To succeed in your organization, you need her to know your skills and have an idea of what your career plans are. Yes, your own boss is supposed to advocate for you, but he still has to get the approval of his boss. When you and others are competing for a promotion, it will go to someone your boss’s boss thinks highly of.

But how do you get to know her? How do you earn her attention and respect? Here are some suggestions:

• Interact with her. It sounds basic, but smile and say “hello” when you see her. Some people duck and run when a powerful person comes into their work area. Instead, ask how you can help her. Re-introduce yourself if you see she doesn’t remember you. Treat her like the very important customer she is.
• Reach out to her. Touch base when opportunities arise. If she gets a promotion or award, send her a congratulatory e-mail. If you find an article or book that’s relevant to her interests, send her a link and ask whether she’s heard about it.
• Tap her for advice. E-mail her to ask for input on courses you’re thinking of taking, professional organizations you’re considering joining, and more. First make sure it’s OK with your boss, though, and use his name in your message so it’s clear you’re not bypassing the chain of command. Suppose your boss has asked you to research some new vendors, and you know his boss has several strong candidates in her extensive network. Send her your list of finalists to see if she has any experience with them or knows of other good options. And when you do this, make your boss look good. Preface your question with, “John thought you might have some helpful insights for us . . .” Follow up on her suggestions and thank her for them when you write to let her know which vendor you’ve chosen and why.
• Extend an invitation. Do you have an interesting guest coming in for a meeting? Are you giving a presentation? Is your manager leading a training session? Ask your boss if you should invite his boss. Whether she comes or not, it’s another chance to let them both know that you’re thinking of the big picture.
• Pass along praise. Forward complimentary e-mails from colleagues or customers to your boss. He’ll most likely send them on to his boss, since your success reflects well on him, too. Customer compliments are highly regarded, whether the customers are internal or external.
• Volunteer for a cross-functional team. Leading or joining a cross-functional team is a great way to contribute to the larger organization. So is offering to take notes at meetings and circulate them afterward. Most people see this as drudgery, but it’s an opportunity to raise your visibility. Ask team members if they’d like you to copy their managers, and see if your boss would like you to copy his boss. If they say yes, your notes—and your name— will be noticed by the senior team, including your boss’s boss.
• Fix a problem. If you find a way to make an improvement that furthers a business objective or supports a corporate value, act on it—and share the results with your boss’s boss. Here’s an example: An administrative assistant at a global nonprofit found her organization’s customer-tracking system inaccurate and hard to use. When she discovered that many colleagues felt the same way, she researched other systems. Some friends in accounting pulled together a cost/benefit analysis for her so she could develop a proposal for switching to a new system, which she presented to her boss and her boss’s boss. She not only got funding for the project, she also earned a new leadership role: overseeing the conversion and managing the new system.

Try these tips, and your boss’s boss will know—and care—who you are.

Priscilla Claman is president of Career Strategies, a Boston-based firm offering career coaching to individuals and competency development and career management services to organizations.

Adapted from content posted on hbr.org on November 17, 2011