The most successful companies have a production line of talent that squeezes every drop of potential from their people. However, unlike a factory production line, the people involved are far from passive agents. To get the most out of themselves and those around them, they have to push each other to be the best they can be – both upwards and downwards.
Managers need to be led by their leaders to stretch themselves, empowered to take risks and work out of their comfort zones. Equally, they need to be managed by their direct and indirect reports so that they understand situations, manage their teams efficiently and prioritise their efforts with the resources available to them.
When a manager is pushed and pulled from both directions, they can’t help but become more rounded.
When a subordinate is encouraged to manage their manager, they take one step closer to becoming a manager themselves.
In such a pressurised work environment it is easy to choose to concentrate your focus on yourself, but in actual fact, much of your growth is intrinsically linked to those around you. Plants don’t grow well without fertilizer, weed killer, regular watering and ample sunlight – people don’t thrive without the challenges of pushing others and being pulled by others. This does indeed take incremental effort, but the more you focus your efforts on others, the more benefits you will feel yourself.
Managing upwards and downwards can teach us so much about each other.
In my view, if you work hard to overcome a difficult relationship, the depths of that bond are then far greater than a superficial and easy going one. There will be disagreements, arguments, and discord, but if it comes from a place of “doing the right thing”, common sense will prevail in the end, and a mutual understanding will emerge.
Leading managers and managing leaders is always optional, but if you don’t take the option, your career will be all the poorer for it.
The key to giving your energies to others is the ability to relinquish your need to be right. Everyone has their own worldview and opinions on things, but when you attempt to view the world through someone else’s eyes, you immediately see that your way is not necessarily the only way. When you are seeking to build these bridges, it is sometimes useful to put aside your better judgment and go with the flow of others for a while. When you have built a strong relationship it’s much easier to influence, but when you are seeking to build a bridge, it is always best to build it from their side first.
When you are managing in both directions, try to make decisions through their eyes rather than through your eyes. The resultant bond will bring you both so much closer.