Lead Your Boss: The Subtle Art of Managing Up

241 Pages·2009·1.01 MB·English

by  John Baldoni

Advance Praise for Lead Your Boss:
“John Baldoni is one of the organizational thinkers that I respect
the most.His ideas are practical — and he can help make sure that
you have an impact in your organization! Every decision in life is
made by the person who has the power to make that decision.If
you influence that person you can make a difference! John shows
you how in Lead Your Boss.[This book] should be required read-
ing for all middle managers!”
— Marshall Goldsmith,New York TimesandWall Street
Journal #1 best-selling author of What Got You Here
Won’t Get You Thereand author or editor of23 other
books
“Managing up is one ofthe most critical challenges facing employ-
ees at nearly every level today.In Lead Your Boss,John Baldoni’s
accessible style and uncommon insights bring a fresh perspective
to this urgent topic in particular and to management writing at
large.”
— Eric Hellweg,Editorial Managing Director,Harvard
Business.org
“Baldoni gets to the heart of what it means to lead from the mid-
dle in order to make good things happen.By focusing on tactical
and practical steps managers can take to effect positive change,
Lead Your Bossprovides guidance for all those frustrated by bosses
who are holding their teams back from achieving great results.”
— Eric Harvey,Founder and President ofWalk the Talk
Co., author of 26 leadership books including the
best-sellers Walk the Talk...and Get the Results You
WantandLeadership Secrets ofSanta Claus
“Lead Your Bossexplores the power ofinfluence in ways that make
developing it and implementing it doable.As an experienced exec-
utive coach, Baldoni knows how to make the case for managers
advocating for positive change in order to help the organization
succeed.And in the process the bosses do well,too.Great insights!”
—John Bourbeau,CEO,Right Management/Great Lakes
Region
“For the last decade organizations have become increasingly flat-
ter,and managers have been given an ever-increasing span ofcon-
trol and responsibility.This means that leadership can no longer
be just about the people below you, but must include your boss
and perhaps even your boss’s boss. Lead Your Boss does a terrific
job of helping people understand the difficult task of managing
upward.Pragmatic tips help provide the tools to get the job done,
and real-life stories help provide context for some ofthe ideas that
John Baldoni presents.”
—Jon V.Peters,President,The Institute for Management
Studies
Lead Your Boss
Also by John Baldoni
Lead by Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results(2009)
How Great Leaders Get Great Results(2006)
Great Motivation Secrets ofGreat Leaders(2005)
Great Communication Secrets ofGreat Leaders(2003)
180 Ways to Walk the Motivation Talk
(co-author Eric Harvey,2002)
Personal Leadership: Taking Control ofYour Work Life(2001)
180 Ways to Walk the Leadership Talk(2000)
L Y B
EAD OUR OSS
The Subtle Art of
Managing Up
John Baldoni
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Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baldoni,John.
Lead your boss :the subtle art ofmanaging up / John Baldoni.
p.cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13:978-0-8144-1505-4 (hardcover)
ISBN-10:0-8144-1505-9 (hardcover)
1. Managing your boss. 2. Teams in the workplace. 3. Leadership.
I. Title.
HF5548.83.B35 2010
650.1'3—dc22
2009015463
© 2010 John Baldoni
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica.
This publication may not be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or
transmitted in whole or in part,in any form or by any means,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording,or otherwise,without the prior written
permission ofAMACOM,a division ofAmerican Management Association,
1601 Broadway,New York,NY 10019.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my family
Son Paul,who leads by example.
Daughter Ann,who loves to learn.
Wife Gail Campanella,who makes all of us better.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Prologue 1
P I:
ART
WHAT DOES THE LEADER NEED? 9
STEP 1: Leading Up 11
STEP 2: Thinking and Acting Strategically 24
STEP 3: Pushing Back the Right Way 54
P II:
ART
WHAT DOES THE TEAM NEED? 79
STEP 4: Letting Others Create the How 81
STEP 5: Breaking Down the Doors 109
STEP 6: Working the System 135
P III:
ART
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP THE
LEADER AND THE TEAM SUCCEED? 151
STEP 7: Bending but Not Breaking 153
STEP 8: Preparing Others to Lead 171
STEP 9: Leading with Presence 194
The Smart Guide to Positive Push-Back 207
Notes 211
Index 219
About the Author 226