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Have you ever found yourself asking, “How do I influence those who lead me?” Leading Up is a unique skill set that enables you to positively influence your leader and add greater value to the organization. In this episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’ll share Ten Ways to Lead Up. Maybe you’re the newest member of the team, and you want to get off to a great start with your supervisor. Or maybe you’re in the middle of the organization—some people report to you but you still report to the Pastor, or the principal, or the CEO, and you want to gain influence with your boss. Or maybe you are the boss, and you’re wondering how to communicate to the people you lead what you look for in great team members. In this episode, I’ll share the keys to leading up in a way that’s healthy and adds the most value. Plus, be sure to download this month’s featured resource, “The Young Leader’s Guide to Building Influence.”
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SHOW NOTES
Leading Up is an important skill that allows you to add the most value to your organization and be the greatest help to your leader. The question is, “How”? What does it look like to lead up in a manner that is effective and healthy? Here are ten tips to get you started.
1. SELF-LEADERSHIP: LEAD YOURSELF CONSISTENTLY WELL
Self-leadership is the discipline to influence your life in the right direction. If you can’t lead you, your boss won’t entrust you to lead others. So what does self-leadership look like? It’s about showing up on time, taking responsibility for your character, having a lifelong learning attitude, owning your problems, taking initiative, and being disciplined in key areas of life. If you want to consistently lead yourself well, create a personal growth plan (You can access a FREE RESOURCES HERE to help you create a plan for personal growth).
2. RESPONSIBILITY: DO WHAT YOU WERE HIRED TO DO
The first thing your leader wants to know is whether or not you’re getting the job done that they hired you to do. To be trusted with new opportunities, you first have to show yourself trustworthy with your existing opportunities. Be responsible. Do what you were hired to do.
3. EXCELLENCE: CONSISTENTLY OVER-DELIVER
Whereas responsibility means you can be trusted, excellence means you can be heard. If you want your leader to hear you, he or she has to see a level of excellence that gets their attention and makes a positive impression. Doing what you’re supposed to do doesn’t get noticed. It’s expected. But when you consistently over-deliver, your leader starts paying attention.
4. TEACHABILITY: BE A CURIOUS LISTENER AND LEARNER
The team members that impress me are the ones who are teachable and coachable. Author Roger Seip describes a teachability equation like this: Desire to Learn x Willingness to Change = Level of Teachability. Teachable people first have a DESIRE to learn. They have a deep passion to become better at what they do. Then, they combine that desire with a WILLINGNESS to change. Without willingness, your desires are nothing more than a daydream. Willingness is where discipline turns your desires into reality. When you make yourself teachable, you endear yourself to your leader. Be humble, listen more than you talk, welcome honest feedback, and don’t get defensive when your leader gives it to you. Be a curious listener and learner.
5. PRIORITIES: VALUE WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOUR LEADER
If you want to lead up, you can’t put your personal preferences ahead of the organization’s priorities. That will never work. You have to embrace and personalize the organization’s vision, because if your leader ever thinks you have an ulterior motive or a secret agenda, your days of leading up are over. Learn to value what’s most important to your leader.
6. SACRIFICE: PAY THE PRICE OTHERS ARE UNWILLING TO PAY
We live in an entitlement culture. People want their perks, privileges, and power without paying their dues. If you want to lead up, you can’t demand your way to the top. You have to make sacrifices. Put in more time, mental energy, and a higher quality of work than others. Volunteer for projects (so long as you’re delivering on your other responsibilities) without expecting something in return. Make sacrifices. Pay the price others are unwilling to pay.
7. TEAM-BUILDING: DEVELOP TEAMS AND MULTIPLY LEADERS
The best team members are those who are focused on DEVELOPING not DOING. They’re focused on developing people, building teams, and multiplying leaders…not doing all the work themselves. Peter Haas describes three types of leaders: technicians, equippers, and multipliers. Technicians do the work. Equippers empower people to do the work. But multipliers build entire family trees of equippers. The staff members that get my attention the most are the multipliers. They have the ability to build teams and develop leaders of leaders. They don’t just get the job done; they get it done with and through leaders of teams.
8. CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING: BE SOLUTION-MINDED
I don’t mind if a team member brings me a problem. What I do mind is when I have to be the one who always has to solve the problem. When you bring a problem to your leader, simultaneously bring two or three possible solutions. This shows your leader that you take initiative and have problem-solving skills. If your leader has to do all of your thinking for you, then they don’t need you.
9. PREPAREDNESS: VALUE YOUR LEADER’S TIME
John Maxwell says, “I give my love unconditionally, but you have to earn my time.” This is how leaders think, and if you want more of your leader’s time, you have to earn it. This begins by being prepared. To lead up, you have to think and plan ahead. Ask yourself, “What does my boss want to know and need to know?” Then have an answer so he or she doesn’t even have to ask.
10. FLUX: KNOW WHEN TO PUSH FORWARD AND WHEN TO PULL BACK
What do I mean by flux? On one end of flux is what authors James Kouzes and Barry Posner call, “challenging the process.” When you “challenge the process,” you are challenging the status quo, taking risks, and helping the organization improve. Young leaders especially love this practice because they see things that can get better. This is the PUSH side of flux—it’s pushing new ideas and new innovations forward—and every organization needs it.
BUT, you also have to master the other side of flux: PULL. While there are certainly times to push forward by challenging the process with your leader, there are also times when you need to pull back, yield to your leader, and be sensitive to what’s important to him or her. Here’s why this is important: if you never push forward, you’ll stop bringing value and innovation to the organization. And if you never pull back, you’ll start to irritate your leader and even break trust with your leader. There’s a dance between knowing when to push forward and when to pull back. If you can master that dance, you’ll be much more effective at leading up.
FEATURED RESOURCE
Check out my free download, “The Young Leader’s Guide to Building Influence.” In it you’ll learn the young leader’s greatest lesson and greatest test, as well as ten words of wisdom for young leaders and practical keys for leading up. PLUS, for those who mentor young leaders, you’ll find keys to spotting an emerging leader and how to coach young leaders to succeed. You can download it FREE right HERE.
