Managing Up, Down, and Around

KNOWING HOW TO get things accomplished in your organization is key to managing. To do this, you have to understand what other departments do, how they operate, and what standards they have in place. You have to develop collaborative relationships throughout the organization. Finally, you have to recognize the role external partners may play in helping the organization achieve success. The discussions in this section will provide you with greater understanding of these issues so you can manager effectively.

Question: I seem to be spending a great deal of time answering questions about benefits, personal leave, vacation requests, training opportunities, payroll, expense reports, travel arrangements, and purchasing new equipment. It's getting frustrating. Am I expected to know the answers to all of these issues?

Answer: It's no wonder you're getting frustrated. It sounds as if your team members are expecting you to know everything. The sign of a good manager is not necessarily knowing the answers to everything, but rather knowing where to send people to find the right information.

Certainly any manager should be able to answer inquiries about time off for vacation or other personal leave. You've got to make sure that the work is getting done, and you can't have everyone away at the same time. If employees are asking about the organization's leave policies or benefit programs, you may want to direct them to human resources or to your employee handbook.

Requests about training opportunities may be an employee's way of starting a conversation about their professional development, which is certainly a conversation you'll want to have, or at least begin. Both you and the employee may need to seek guidance from your human resources support about available sources that will meet any of the employee's development needs. This would be valuable information for you both to know. Ultimately, you've got to approve the time and budget for your team members' training. The same is true for requests about purchasing new equipment. You're responsible for the budget and you should understand any procedures for purchasing equipment. You may need to coordinate purchases with other departments, such as IT, as well.

Other requests about issues such as payroll, expense reports, or travel arrangements should be directed to the appropriate department. It's possible that the information that is being conveyed isn't clear or readily available. Many organizations establish intranets, through which various departments can provide information about their policies and processes. If this is the case in your organization, make sure your employees know how to access the information.

If a new policy, from any department, is issued, be sure that it's communicated clearly to your team members. New policies can often be confusing, so be sure you have a way to field and consolidate questions, and get back to your team in a reasonable amount of time once you have the answers.

Question: I recognize that I've got responsibility for managing my own team and encouraging all the members to work together in a collaborative fashion. In addition, I recognize that I'm part of a management team and I want to work collaboratively with my peers. Do you have any suggestions about how I can go about doing this?

Answer: It's great that you've recognized that you are part of more than one team in your current organization. Having strong collaborative relationships with your peers is so important, because no one person or department stands alone. In today's organizations, work is interdependent, and you cannot afford to stay in a silo.

Begin by seeking out your peers and invite constructive feedback. Find out what the pain points are. In other words, what do your internal customers expect from your department, and what have they been receiving and not been receiving? It's important that you understand what other departments need from you, especially if you manage a support department, as well as how your department is perceived.

Once you've received this feedback, determine if the expectations are realistic or not. If they are not, it's important to communicate back to your peers why not and determine how more reasonable expectations can be set. They need to know the realities under which your department operates. For example, if you manage a staff function, there's a tendency to always want to respond to the C-suite first. You need to determine if this is serving the organization well. Talk to peers who manage other staff functions and get their insights.

Explore common business interests with your colleagues. Determine how you can support the work of each other's operations and what the benefits are for each of you for doing so. If you agree on action items that you can each take, develop a plan to do so that includes follow-up. Then, be accountable to each other for completing those items.

If there are common issues that you are struggling with, explore how you can work together to address and/or solve it. If you are new to the organization, or even to your role, respect that your peers have institutional knowledge that they can share with you. These are the people who can tell you what the practices are around certain areas and where you can find additional information about policies and protocols. As you build mutual trust, they are likely to be more candid with your than perhaps your manager might be.

Meet regularly with your colleagues. Have breakfast or lunch—whatever fits your respective schedules. Use these opportunities to learn as much as you can about other departments, which is especially important if you're new to the organization. This will also give you both the chance to explore what factors are working to help you collaborate and how you can build on those factors. Don't just talk business. Recognize that you all have interests outside the organization—and you may share many of the same personal as well as business interests. This will help build trust and comradery!

Question: I've had wonderful people during my career who served as mentors and helped me get to the management level. I'd like to start a formal mentoring program and have the support of senior management to do so. Can you give me some ideas how to get started?

Answer: Good for you to want to “pay it forward” and encourage mentoring in your organization. Mentoring is an excellent tool to develop staff that doesn't cost much (or any) money but can pay huge dividends for the individual and your organization, including your ability to hire talented employees. Smart job applicants ask if they might have a mentor to help them be more productive if they join your organization. Other benefits of mentoring programs include the development of cross-organizational connections as people mentor employees from other departments and build channels of communication—often between people who might not have otherwise worked together.

When designing a formal mentoring program, consider these things:

• Goals: They must link to the organization's strategic goals or a specific developmental goal and be clearly defined.
• Leadership support: Like any initiative, you need to have top management support for the program to succeed. This may be as simple as having your CEO kick off the program or as complex as getting budgetary support to provide resources for mentors.
• Customization: The program must be specific to your organization and/or department. (Don't copy someone else's program.)
• Support: Mentors should be trained and have resources available as needed. Some organizations provide recognition for mentors or time off to compensate for the extra time they spend on mentoring others.
• Selection/matching: Decide who is eligible to participate in the mentoring program, how you will select mentors, and how you will match them to mentees. Not everyone is qualified to be a mentor. (See the bulleted list that follows for what makes a good mentor.)
• Time period: Determine if the program is open-ended or is for a specific time period.
• Evaluation: Include a way for you to measure effectiveness of the program so that you can improve/revise as needed.

Don't forget to consider the qualities that you want in a mentor:

• Someone who has knowledge or skill in an area that you don't have.
• Someone who is a good listener.
• Someone who has a genuine interest in developing the skills of others.
• Someone who is trustworthy.

Some people think that mentors have to be long-term employees who've had lots of organizational experience. In reality, a mentor is anyone who has knowledge or experience that the other person doesn't have.

Finally, do not discount the fact that mentoring can also happen organically and informally when an employee approaches some-one and asks for guidance over time. Even if your formal mentoring program doesn't get implemented as you envision, you can always encourage employees to seek out mentors on their own. Because this is a passion of yours, be sure to use your expertise to mentor others!

Question: Someone in my department just saw a great deal on equipment we need at a local big-box store. We could save a significant amount of money purchasing it there, but we have to use our organization's vendors. Any advice for convincing the procurement department to stop exclusively using their preferred providers and vendors?

Answer: Being cost-conscious with the organization's money is admirable, but understand there's generally a good reason that certain providers have been chosen. These decisions are not made lightly nor arbitrarily. Chances are a fairly rigorous process to choose each provider and vendor was used, and if you're ever in need of specific products and services, you will probably have to work closely with your procurement department. The process for choosing vendors usually includes the following steps:

1. Research: During this phase extensive research is conducted, wherein needs are analyzed and goals are established. Potential costs are also analyzed, and the cost of the goods and services should be included in your annual budget. It is not unusual to also conduct a cost-benefit analysis if you're looking at services to make sure they can't be provided cheaper internally and to determine the return on investment. Procurement is dependent on the department requesting the goods and services during this initial step because they will be the primary users. The research should also include a review of the marketplace in order to identify potential vendors and providers.
2. Request for Proposal: A request for proposal, or RFP, asks vendors and providers to propose solutions and pricing that fits your needs, but also assures consistency in responses so they can be easily compared. RFPs typically asks for the following information:
   • An executive summary or synopsis of the provider's goods and services, and their understanding of your needs.
   • Company information, namely size, financial stability, business viability, and experience.
   • Deliverables, or how they will meet your needs.
   • Project team and resources.
   • References.
   • Cost.
3. Evaluate Proposals and Select a Provider: During this step, providers will be evaluated based on the strength of their proposals and possibly site visits to their establishments. In some cases, potential providers may be invited to make presentations to your organization. Elements of the evaluation include, at a minimum, scope of resources and ability to meet your needs, quality of product/services, reputation (which is generally based on references), value-added capability, previous or existing relationship, flexibility, cultural match, and cost. Members of the department requesting the goods or services play a big role in evaluating providers.
4. Contract Negotiation: This usually is the responsibility of the procurement department, with input or oversight from the general counsel or outside lawyer since the contract forms a legal obligation. The contract will include, but not be limited to, key deliverables, time frames, payment terms, and performance standards.

Question: I have an acquaintance who works for a local media out-let. She often asks if I would talk with her about developments in the industry. Are there any reasons that I shouldn't let her interview me?

Answer: It may be perfectly acceptable for you to talk to the press, but before you do anything, you should be very clear about your organization's policies and ensure that your response is aligned with anyone else speaking on behalf of the organization. Matters in the media often involve the reputation of an organization: why you met certain performance goals or didn't, why you enacted or retracted a specific policy, what you did or didn't do to support your customers, why you are hiring or firing a top executive, and so forth. When speaking to the press, the well-being of the organization must take absolute priority over individual egos or personal agendas, which can sometimes be hard to ignore. The response must be objective, deliberate, and considerate.

Even in times of significant crisis or a minor misstep, which many organizations experience, the top concern in any response must be in preserving and protecting the reputation of the brand of the organization. This is especially true when tweeting or posting video. These can go viral and dramatically alter or derail an organization's agenda for months or sometimes even longer. The media and the public can also tell when an organization isn't being completely forthright in their response. This is especially true if multiple people are speaking on behalf of an organization and presenting alternate stories or conflicting points of views. This only fans the flames of curiosity and makes people want to dig for the “deeper truth,” which can cause unnecessary headaches and distractions and deplete your brand currency in the marketplace. Each organization has a finite amount of what we call brand currency in the public eye, which can either be used to promote or defend its reputation. You want to be very judicious in where and how you spend it. Matters of the media are best left to the organization's representatives who are best versed in this arena. It's not about censorship, but about preserving the integrity and image of the brand and preventing any significant or long-term damage.

Question: I hear the term “risk management” used often, but I'm not sure what it means, especially in my organization. Is this just a new term for workplace safety and security, or is there more to it?

Answer: You are certainly right that workplace safety and workplace security are both big parts of risk management, but as you suspect, it goes far beyond—and both of those areas have expanded greatly. Concerns about employee health and safety, or environmental health and safety as it was often called, have evolved into risk management systems that also include concerns about individual and organizational security and privacy.

A big part of health and safety involves compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). There are a number of standards to which organizations must comply, as well as injury and illness reporting and recordkeeping requirements. (You can read more about OSHA at www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-osha.htm.)

As a manager, you should understand the procedures in your organization for reporting any accident or illness. Many organizations, even those in the non-manufacturing sectors, have safety management programs, which may conduct ongoing worksite analysis to identify potential safety and health hazards so preventative measures can be implemented and/or corrective actions can be taken. Employee health and wellness programs are another integral part of risk management. Depending on the structure and size of an organization, these programs are often overseen by human resources, facilities, or another administrative function.

Workplace security covers a broad range of subjects designed to protect an organization from numerous threats. Security programs require an integrated approach, involving organizational entities such as human resources, facilities, security, finance, IT, legal, and public relations, as well as outside consultants specializing in risk management and Employee Assistance Programs.

Under the umbrella of security, physical workplace security plays a big role. Access to buildings and facilities (security guards and structural or electronic barriers, video surveillance, badging, or other identification systems) and protecting physical assets against harm or theft are widely recognized aspects. Physical security also includes response to threats such as workplace violence and natural disasters, including evacuation plans, such as fire drills.

Beyond physical security, risk management also includes protecting an organization's confidential and proprietary information. This can include policies and procedures about the appropriate use, disclosure, and discussion of information and access to computer information and employee data. Organizations take great care to prevent identity theft—theft of personal information of their employees and customers. Cybersecurity is an area in which risk management works closely with IT to prevent hackers and cyber criminals from gaining unauthorized access to computers, networks, and data.

A final area of responsibility that falls to risk management is emergency preparedness. Emergency preparedness and response programs define the steps to be taken during and immediately after an unexpected or violent incident occurs. Risk management must keep crisis management plans current. They must also develop continuity plans to ensure the organization can withstand disruption.

As a manager, you should be familiar with your organization's risk management program and any protocols that are in place to support the welfare, safety, and security of your employees and the organization.

Question: Technology is drastically changing the way work gets done. I have some ideas for process improvement in my department. How and when do I get IT involved?

Answer: Technology certainly can make work more efficient and you're wise to be thinking about process improvement. However, before you rush out and ask IT to design something, there are a number of issues that you will need to consider and some actions you will need to take.

Determine the desired outcome and the impact that outcome will have, especially on employees. For example, are you looking for efficiency so staff members have time available to perform more strategic work? If so, how will you prepare them to take on more responsibility? What type of training might they need on new, automated processes? What resistance might you encounter?

Conduct a cost-benefit analysis to ensure that an automated process would be cost-effective. If so, then with IT's help, determine if there is already an off-the-shelf software that will meet your needs. Will an off-the-shelf solution need to be customized? If nothing is available and a solution needs to be built, does your IT support have the resources to do so? What type of technology support (e.g., online reference guides) might be needed if a new process and technology solution are implemented?

If something does need to be built or developed, you will need to explain what it is and be involved in the design. You will need a work-flow analysis, in which you examine each task that is performed, focusing on activities that happen again and again. Be sure to capture every step in the process, including beginning and ending points. Provide as much detail as possible, no matter how small those details may seem. Elicit input from your team—the people who are actually performing the work. Though this may sound tedious, it will help you to understand each step and you may even be able to identify some that are unnecessary—or some that could be added. It will also provide a good road map and facilitate your discussions with IT as you share the process and your thoughts for improvement.

When you sit down with IT and explain your needs, find out early in your talks if they have the knowledge, skills, and time to design and develop the new process, and provide continuing support if necessary. If the project moves forward, commit resources from your team or department so the people involved in doing the work contribute to the design of a new process. They will provide great value when it's time to implement the change because they've been part of it from the beginning.

Question: My organization is very entrepreneurial, and everyone is encouraged to be aware of new business opportunities, even if their role is not in sales. Are there things I should know about sales and marketing so I can support the growth of the organization?

Answer: It sounds as if your organization has, or wants to have, a sales culture, and it's great that you want to embrace it. One of the first things to recognize is the distinction between marketing and sales.

Marketing is the process of planning, pricing, promoting, and distributing the organization's goods and services. The marketing function is often research-focused, determining the needs of the customer base and the organization's ability to meet those needs through the products and services it has, or can develop, and its capabilities of making them available. A good marketing function builds lasting relationships with both customers and suppliers, which is commonly referred to as customer relationship marketing.

Sales, on the other hand, is responsible for selling the products and services of the organization to the marketplace. The sales function depends on the research and data provided by the marketing function when planning its approaches and strategies.

It sounds as if your organization places a high value on building lasting relationships, which is a great business strategy. Businesses that rely on cold calls or contacts, in which success is measured by the number of answered calls or opened emails, are not aligning themselves for sustained growth. These efforts can have a negative impact on the organization and its image. Organizations that take a customer or client relationship approach recognize that all of its team members represent the interests and values of the organization. Even if you're not directly involved in selling, there are some skills that are essential to sales that will help you:

• Strong personal skills: qualities such as passion, energy, self-motivation, integrity, and the ability to work across the organization to understand and serve the customers, clients, or members in the case of non-profits or member-based organization.
• Strong relationship skills: qualities such as humility, ego control, confidence, and personal responsibility. Don't forget these related skills of building collaboration and listening. Relationship-building has to occur within the organization as well as with external stakeholders. Just as team members want to work with other great team members, potential customers want to do business with people, not with an impersonal organization that relies on cold calls or contacts.
• Excellent business acumen: an awareness of the total business environment. The ability to understand the needs throughout the organization coupled with the needs of the potential client or customer. Understanding the client's needs builds relationships, which builds trust, which helps sell not only an organization's goods and services, but the integrity of the organization itself.

Sales may not be your official job within your organization, but remember that in your day-to-day interactions with clients, customers, or anyone outside your organization, when you're conversing, handling objections, networking, building relationships, listening, and helping, you are using the fundamental skills of selling. And most of the time you don't realize it! When you speak, people form an impression very quickly, and that is a selling activity. It's also the basis for relationship-building. If a potential opportunity presents itself, bring in the sales professionals. You can still be part of the process, especially if capabilities need to be defined. This is a good way to build internal relationships. When you build relationships, internal or external, you build trust. It's a message no manager or leader can ignore.

Question: I know there are a great deal of demands in any workplace today, but getting assistance from our support departments, like IT or facilities, can be frustrating. Any suggestions on how I can get their attention when either I or one of my team members need their support?

Answer: You're right to be frustrated at times if you can't get an immediate response to a call for help, but keep in mind that other departments have priorities of their own. Service departments such as facilities or information technology, in particular, get many requests for help and they have to prioritize those requests. You can't expect everyone else to be in your rush—that is, be on your same time schedule or have the same sense of urgency as you do.

Most service departments have a process of submitting work orders. These allow them to track what's going on, prioritize requests by level of importance, and keep metrics on their workload and accomplishments. These metrics also give them a great deal of data from which they can estimate how long it reasonably takes to get certain tasks accomplished. Once they understand the nature of the problem they are being asked to fix, they can plan their time accordingly, along with any routine or scheduled tasks that are currently in place. Keep in mind, on the positive side, that because service or support departments are metrics-driven, once they open a work order or ticket, they don't want to keep it open any longer than necessary.

Let's look at your question from the point of view of expectations and communication. Someone in your department is experiencing a computer problem and wants it fixed now. If IT is on-site, rather than a remote help desk, the reasonable expectation could be that a technician will be in your department shortly. However, what if there is a problem with a database that affects an entire department and all available technicians are working on that right now? Today may be the day for a major system maintenance or upgrade project to which most of the IT staff is dedicated. The CEO's administrative assistant may have just called IT to solicit help for her or her boss's computer problem. Likely, that could delay getting to your request.

Has the problem been sufficiently explained to IT? Knowing the exact nature of the problem, IT can acknowledge the request, set up a work order, and provide a reasonable time frame in which they can resolve the problem for you or your team member. Realistically, the non-technical staff member may not know what the problem is, only that his computer isn't working. That can cause frustration for both sides. It may also be more time consuming to resolve because the problem will require some troubleshooting on IT's part.

Another dynamic often occurs with staff functions—reporting relationships. Consider who IT or facilities report to—often a senior executive. That can influence the priority of attention an issue will receive. There is a human tendency to want to please the boss before pleasing the customers.

The more you get to know your peers in other departments, the more you will learn about how other departments function within your organization. This will be a tremendous boost to managing expectations when you or one of your team members needs their support and assistance.

Question: I want to have a good relationship with human resources and wonder if there are some questions I should be asking as we work together.

Answer: Having a strong partnership with your HR leader is so important and great things can happen when you work together. HR can serve as a sounding board, conscience, coach, subject matter expert, and facilitator to help you handle your managerial duties.

One way to strengthen the relationship is to ask specific questions to jump-start a discussion that can greatly influence the organization's success.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• “What can I do to support you as you work to ensure we have the right people in place to meet our strategic goals?”
• “Is there a role you need me to play to support your efforts to hire, on-board, engage, and retain our talented workforce?”
• “Is there anything you think I could do better to be an effective manager?”
• “Do you have any suggestions for me on how I can communicate more effectively with my staff?”

If you start with these open-ended questions and listen carefully to the responses from HR, odds are your working relationship with HR will be on the right road.

If your HR leader has some ideas about how you can contribute, don't automatically dismiss them. For example, you may be asked to take an active role in your organization's college recruiting program. It is highly effective to have managers do class presentations and go on campus for recruiting events.

Another way HR may enlist your assistance is in the on-boarding process. There are many ways you can contribute to the increasingly important process of bringing new hires into your organizational culture. Some organizations, rather than having HR conduct the on-boarding process, ask department managers to present what their department does so that new hires get to know other managers and other functions.

When you have a strong partnership with your HR leader, consider using them as a coach to help you “up your game.” Many HR leaders are great listeners and can help you make good decisions about your staff and any challenges you're facing.

It goes without saying that this is a two-way street. Hopefully, your HR leader will ask you what they can do to better support you and your efforts to be a good manager. Be honest and respectful when you ask for help or give them feedback.

Building this partnership requires trust and respect for what each brings. You both need to be able to truly listen to the other and to trust that anything that's said is kept confidential.

There's one last question you might consider asking and that is “What keeps you up at night?” You will learn a lot from the answers you get that should help you understand better the challenges HR faces. When we understand each other, we work better together!

Question: I'm new to management and I'm trying to increase my business literacy. I hear the term “operations” or “business operations” often. I have a sense of what it means in my organization. Can you provide me a clearer explanation?

Answer: The concept of business operations can be perplexing because it can mean different things in different organizations. Business operations focuses on getting goods and services to the organization's customers and clients. The basic concepts may be more relatable in organizations that produce goods, but the basics of operations also exist in service organizations. The concepts that drive operations and major considerations of those concepts include:

• Capacity, which is the organization's ability to yield output—its goods and services. Are there sufficient resources (supplies, equipment, and staff, for example) required for production of goods? Does the firm have sufficient staff, experience, and knowledge to provide the services for a client?
• Standards, which are measurements of the quality of output within the guidelines of certain requirements (for example, financial, time, or safety). Will we be able to produce the goods or services on time and on budget?
• Scheduling, which is the detailed planning process and coordination of resources, including their allocation. Scheduling draws upon current or incoming work, such as work orders or projects, history, and forecasts of future demand. Who are the best consultants to assign to new clients? If demand for our product increases, do we have the resources to meet that demand?
• Inventory, which is relevant to manufacturing, describes everything and anything that goes into the production process, such as supplies and raw materials; goods in various stages of production; and finished goods to be shipped and sold. Can we move inventory at a rate at which we can see a return and don't incur carrying costs?
• Control, which is the evaluation of the organization's ability to meet both its own specifications and its customers' or clients' needs. Was the capacity there? Were resources used properly? Were all applicable standards met? The evaluation looks at what actually happened, compared it to what was supposed to happen, and determines what changes may need to be made for the future.

All of the above concepts are interrelated. Capacity utilization is dependent on scheduling. For example, in a services environment, there may be sufficient expertise on staff, but if they are engaged on current projects, they may not be available for new ones. Scheduling, in a manufacturing environment, is affected by inventory. If the supplies and raw materials aren't sufficiently available, production can't be scheduled.

Finally, although operations may be at the center of an organization, that doesn't mean that it exists in a vacuum. It is dependent on both external and internal partners. With the evolution of supply chain management, the management of the flow of goods and services, including the movement and storage of raw materials, of work-in-process inventory, and of finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption, organizations often forge strategic partnering relationships with their key suppliers who use technology to share information regarding the flow and movement of materials. Internally, operations is dependent on the integration of its organizations systems from accounting to warehouse operations to transportation.

Question: I've heard the terms “reverse mentoring” and “peer mentoring.” Is there any difference between these terms, and do they have any advantages in the workplace?

Answer: Mentoring in the traditional sense occurs when someone who is older and more experienced works with younger employees to support the younger employee's professional growth and development. The more experienced individual (in the workplace) was providing guidance to someone with less workplace experience.

The concept of reverse mentoring pairs older workers with younger ones so they can educate each other. The early focus of reverse mentoring was on younger workers helping their older peers and even executives with technology issues. Millennials, the generation of workers born roughly between the years 1981 and 1997, grew up with technology and are very tech-savvy. Using technology is second nature for them and it's easier for them to adapt to new technology than their older peers and managers.

As members of different generations are paired, some interesting outgrowths occur. Relationships form and the peers start educating each other on how business works and on new ways of thinking—how improvements can be made. It gives both parties the opportunity to see things through a different set of lenses. It becomes peers mentoring each other, whether formally or informally, and it usually happens organically—thus, peer mentoring.

There certainly are positive aspects of these relationships. As generations get to know more about each other, this can negate many of the negative stereotypes that are often associated with Millennial workers, such as that they are lazy, entitled, or are easily distracted by technology. Giving Millennials these opportunities addresses their desire to contribute in meaningful ways. They want to share what they know. It keeps them engaged. Reverse mentoring can also enhance an organization's diversity efforts by bringing together people from different generations and backgrounds. It can also bring people from different parts or levels within the organization together, broadening diversity efforts.

Closing the knowledge gap in organizations can be achieved, at least in part, with reverse mentoring. Older workers can possess a great deal of institutional knowledge as well as business knowledge that they can share with younger workers. Younger workers can learn much about business terminology and industry practices from their older peers. With technology changing at lightning speed, younger peers grasp these changes quickly and are positioned to share, saving time and money.

Reverse mentoring can also play a part in career development and in developing leaders. Older peers can often introduce younger ones to their networks both inside and outside the organization. Conversely, younger peers can share their virtual networks and explain how they work to their older peers. This can raise the professional profile of both groups. When younger workers have access to leaders in their organization, it is the first step in preparing them to become the next generation of leaders. Having the freedom to interact with leaders gives them the opportunity to observe first-hand leadership in action.

As a manager, encourage your staff to engage in peer mentoring. It's a good way to keep life-long learning alive in your organization!

Question: I'm having difficulty working with my manager. Do you have some ideas for how to develop that relationship so we can work better together?

Answer: You've hit on something that is sometimes known as “managing up.” This is a method of career development that's based on consciously working for the mutual benefit of your manager and you. It's all about understanding your boss's position, goals, and responsibilities and working to always exceeds expectations—especially when what you do helps your manager achieve one of her goals.

Let's be clear that managing up is not about “kissing up to the boss”! Yes, you certainly want to please your manager, but the best way to do that is to accomplish all your job requirements in an efficient and excellent manner so that you're making the maximum contribution possible. Your contributions to the success of your department will make your manager look good and, hopefully, be grateful for your assistance.

Here are some easy dos and don'ts to successfully manage up:

• Do begin by getting to know your manager by observation and by conversations you have during your one-on-one sessions or in staff meetings. You want to know:
  • What are her priorities?
  • What does she value professionally and personally?
  • How does she communicate and how does she want you to communicate with her?
  • What role does she see you taking in the department?
• Do always be helpful. Volunteer for special projects and team assignments that you know will factor into one of your department's deliverables. If there is a routine task your manager doesn't enjoy doing like creating PowerPoint presentations and you like that kind of work, why not make the offer to either work with your manager or take it on yourself? You could be a hero and have a golden opportunity to work one-one-one with your boss and get to know her better!
• Do what you say you will do. By keeping commitments in a timely manner, your manager will learn to trust you and may encourage you to take on new responsibilities.
• Do look for ways you can help your manager out in crisis situations. Let's say a very last-minute request comes down to your manager from the CEO for a report needed for a board meeting and you know your manager isn't great at pulling data together. Make the offer to take on part of the job and let your manager do what she's best at.
• Don't be the “yes person” in meetings. Be honest and friendly with your manager and your team members so that you're seen as a valued resource to your manager and others. Stay out of office politics by staying professional at all times. Treat everyone with respect, including your manager!

Having a good working relationship with your manager also should make your job more enjoyable!

Question: I find myself in a situation in which I need to exert influence on my peers, but I certainly don't have the authority to make them follow my lead. What can I do?

Answer: This is a challenge most of us face at one time or another in our careers. It's challenging but certainly not impossible. Here are some things you may want to consider:

• It's easier to influence other people if they like you. That may sound simplistic and not very businesslike, but it's the truth! Think about your own reaction to people you work with. Aren't you more likely to go along with the likeable ones? We're not suggesting you change your personality but try to be friendly and kind to others so that you can build personal relationships with your peers. This means keeping your promises and not undermining the work of others to get your way. Show your authentic self at work!
• Do your best to understand the people you need to influence. Observe them in meetings and social situations, and see if you can figure out what motivates them. You may discover that, though someone appears to be negative, they just don't want to be the first to try something new. They like to wait until they see how it goes and then get on board or not, depending on what's the safest course of action.
• When you know what motivates your peers, look for a way to make your idea work for them. Remember the “What's in it for me?” maxim and see if you can tailor your presentation so that each person sees how it will impact them in a positive manner.
• Is there anyone who you think agrees with you on this issue? It's always a good strategy to find others who agree with your position before you present your idea to everyone. Line up support beforehand and your chances of success will increase.
• Be sure to do your homework before attempting to influence people you don't have authority over. If you have solid facts and figures to back up your idea, your chances of success increase. Get your facts lined up and be sure to do a cost/benefit analysis so that you can show how your idea will make a positive difference in your organization.
• Remember that “every how needs a why,” and the stronger you can make the case for why your idea will benefit your organization, the easier your influencing job may be.
• When you present your idea, take time to listen to the objections of your peers—really listen before you jump in with why you're right and they're wrong. You may need to compromise to move forward, so listening to what others think can make the difference in your idea becoming reality!
• Don't give up if you really believe in something. It may take some time to win over others, but keep trying.

Question: I feel as if I one of my roles as a manager is to protect my employees so that they can focus on their work. I'm just not sure how far that goes. Can you give me some tips?

Answer: You're right. One of the roles a manager plays is to shield your staffers from distractions and to run interference, if needed, when organizational politics come into play.

Start by getting to know each person you manage well enough to know when your help will be needed. For example, you may be able to spot a time when they're worried about something but they're not comfortable in asking you for help. If you take some of the burden off their shoulders or work alongside them on a project, you're providing something quite valuable to your employees.

You definitely want to encourage a climate of safety and comfort for your employees. If your employees feel as if you have their back, they will be much more inclined to admit mistakes or come to you when they need your help.

Unfortunately, there will be circumstances when you can't protect your people, including layoffs or pay cuts due to organizational cutbacks, but you can be compassionate and try to blunt negative consequences when things are beyond your control.

Serving as a buffer isn't comfortable for some managers, but it is a role that is highly valued by your employees. If it doesn't come naturally to you, here are some ways you can support your staff:

• Protect their time. When one of your employees has a deadline to complete a project, you can step up and take less critical work off their to-do list. Maybe you can assign some work to others or move a deadline back on the less-critical work to allow your employee to concentrate.
• Run interference. When your CEO is on a rampage and lashes out against one of your team, you should step in and take the heat. This is not to say if your employee is in the wrong, you let them get away with it. It means you put yourself between the higher-up and your employee and then you handle the required disciplinary action.
• Create a space in which it is okay to make mistakes. People need to know how they will be treated if they make a mistake. Your employees learn best from actually doing the work, but they may not be perfect the first time they tackle a challenging assignment. If they know that you are there for them to answer questions and you will support them, most people will do their best to not let you down.
• Take the heat if a mistake is made. This is the ultimate in buffering when you don't throw your employee under the bus but instead admit to the mistake.

Creating the comfortable atmosphere your employees crave takes some effort on your part, but it is well worth it, and they'll want to protect you, too.

Question: I want to set clear boundaries so that we have a more efficient and pleasant working atmosphere. I need some help. Can you advise me how to get started?

Answer: Setting boundaries as soon as possible in any working relationship will help establish your role as manager and will clarify your expectations on how things will operate in your department or business. Clear boundaries help people be more productive as well as happier and healthier at work.

Some managers don't think it's necessary to discuss boundaries at work. They think that by the time people enter the workforce, they should know how to behave at work, but that's just not the case. We all can use a reminder from time to time.

Setting workplace boundaries is not coming up with hard and fast rules for what people can and can't do; rather, it is a way to get things out in the open and to discuss how we want to work together. Your goal is to have a professional work environment in which everyone is valued and is encouraged to do their best work at all times.

Not having clear boundaries can have a real impact on your staff and on your productivity. Morale can suffer as people cross lines at work. Unclear boundaries can also demotivate your staff if they feel as if their contributions aren't valued.

And here's where unclear boundaries can really cause your organization major difficulties: If an employee disrespects another employee, it can lead to harassment and even to legal action.

So, setting clear boundaries for how you work together is an imperative for good management.

Hopefully, your organization has a values component to your mission statement that says “Employees are treated with dignity and respect” or something like that. This is a great place to begin your boundaries discussion with your staff.

Don't worry if your organization doesn't have a values statement. You can fill that gap by creating one for your department. Here's a sample to consider: “The XYZ Department values the contributions of every employee and treats each person with respect so that we maintain a civil and professional work environment.”

Once you have your values statement, start to add the guiding principles—behaviors you want to see exhibited in your workplace. Here are some to consider:

• We will work to build positive relationships with peers.
• We will show respect for others at all times.
• We will work efficiently with others.
• We will celebrate the successes of others.
• We will listen with respect to our coworkers.
• We will show concern for others.
• We will show professional courtesy to others.
• We will listen to others with undivided attention.

Taking the time to set boundaries will be extremely helpful as you work to be an effective manager. If this is new to you, consider asking other managers for their ideas or ask for help from HR to facilitate the discussion to create your department's boundaries.

Question: I want to be sure we're providing our customers with the best possible service, but I keep hearing that good service isn't enough—that we have to give them a good customer experience. How can I make sure we are doing that?

Answer: Usually, your customer's first contact with your organization is through an interaction with one of your employees, either in person or on the phone. That's customer service. If a customer calls your restaurant for a reservation for a special occasion at a time that is already booked but your employee finds them a table, that's customer experience.

Customer experience goes beyond service and is defined by interactions between a customer and organization throughout their business relationship. Customer expectations are higher than ever and word of mouth travels fast—especially in our highly connected world.

Here's why this matters. A customer who has a positive experience with your organization or business is more likely to become a repeat and loyal customer and refer friends and family to your organization. In its simplest terms, happy customers remain loyal.

Here are some ideas to try:

• Create an emotional connection with your customers, because customers become loyal when they remember how they felt when they used a particular service or product. Studies show that an emotionally engaged customer is at least three times more likely to recommend your product or service.¹ Emotional connections are formed when your employee finds a way to do something so special for a customer that the person is blown away. Consider this example from Zappos where a customer returned a pair of shoes she'd bought for her mother who died before she could wear them. Not only did the customer service representative have the shoes picked up by a courier service at no cost to the customer, they also sent flowers with a condolence note to the customer.² You can bet that customer is loyal to Zappos!
• Ask for feedback from your customers and do it quickly. Have you noticed how quickly you get a survey from places where you shop or visit? Sometimes you've barely returned home before a survey pops up on your email. That's because those organizations have learned the value of collecting data in real time. What you do with the data is critical. Be sure it gets to a specific customer support person so they can learn.
• Ask for feedback from your customer service staff. They are the ones on the front lines, and they may have valuable information you can use to improve your product or service. Including your front-line staff also is a huge morale booster for them—especially when you act on their suggestions, so let them know when you make changes based on their feedback.

There is one simple question you can ask to evaluate how your customers view their experiences with you: “Would you recommend this organization to a friend or relative?” Try this and see what you learn. If necessary, modify your customer service processes.

Closing Thoughts

It takes more than diplomacy to impact people outside your scope of authority—peers or your manager—or to manage external business partners. You have to take the time to learn and understand how things are done and the contributions that others make to your team and to the organization. Armed with this knowledge, you can perfect your skills. You are positioning yourself to be a skilled influencer in your organization.