Manage up
Exclusive interview with Gao Lili on workplace ethics of creating a win-win situation
Interview/Li Yingfang
Photo provided/"The flourishing of beauty"
▲Any change in a multinational enterprise is difficult. Gao Lili clearly understands that the results of taking risks and managing upwards can save the company one to two hundred million US dollars in costs and double or triple the original inventory turnover rate. Gao Lili said: "If you don't do it, your conscience will be uneasy."
Facing the treacherous and ever-changing corporate environment, the relationship between subordinates and superiors is no longer a top-down relationship. Subordinates must also be brave enough to take challenges and actively "manage up"! But how do you get along with your boss to build the best team and become a driving force in change? Especially middle- and high-level managers, while leading their teams to move forward, how can they use wisdom to enhance their relationship with their bosses, improve the quality of their decision-making, and enhance mutual trust? How should we operate in the face of a powerful boss?
Gao Lili, the president of this magazine and the founder of the "Kingdom Resources for Christ Association", has drawn wisdom and light from the Bible for many years, and based on his rich practical experience in multinational companies, he has summarized the ten principles of upward management for Christians to teach you After reading it, apply it immediately in the workplace.
What is managing up?
Upward management means maintaining clear contact and interaction with your boss, using a positive and skillful way to influence your boss, and reaching goals and consensus that are beneficial to your boss and the organization.
Gao Lili pointed out that the most important thing in upward management is the "art of relationship". Dealing with "people" and "things" must not be reduced to political struggles or power manipulation. In the workplace, superiors already have authority over subordinates. We must know how to respect and accept them, and we must not deliberately ignore or resist the authority of our superiors just because we want to manage upwards.
Managing up, good trust is a priority. Because interpersonal interactions are inherently risky, if subordinates and superiors cannot properly understand and communicate, upward management will waste both parties' time in vain, and even cause mutual suspicion, causing the team's efforts to go to waste and fall short.
So why do Christians in the workplace need to manage up? Colliers quoted 1 Peter 5:5: "You all must also gird yourselves with humility and submit to one another, for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." Apply biblical truth to workplace relationships without asking for anything. Instead of seeking your own benefits to make your work smoother, you first seek the benefits of others (your boss and the organization you belong to). This is the motivation for upward management.
Gao Lili cited four benefits of upward management:
1. Actively obtain the best resources needed to achieve goals and create a win-win situation for yourself, your boss and the organization.
2. Take the initiative to create a sound and effective relationship with your boss and build mutual respect, understanding and trust.
3. Understand in depth the weaknesses, strengths, goals, needs and work styles of both yourself and your boss.
4. Understand calmly that you and your boss have a symbiotic and interdependent relationship.
Christian Big Boss
Gao Lili emphasized that since upward management is the art of interpersonal relationships, of course you may also encounter difficult bosses. But the rule still applies. If your boss has violated moral issues, they cannot be solved by upward management. You should change jobs when it is time to change. If you encounter situations that go against common sense or are deviant, you should make it public. As Christians, when we encounter such challenges, we must pray urgently and ask God for wisdom to face all this.
The greatest advantage of Christian managers is to rely on God, because we know that we have God, and He is the real big boss behind us; because we know that there is no fear in the love of the Lord, and we can live a fearless life - without fear that our boss will not like it. We, don’t like others, get fired from our jobs, etc.
In the workplace, it is natural and pleasing to God to handle the relationship with your boss well and show due respect to your boss. Many non-Christians often swing between the two extremes - either they are too flattering, or they are too self-admiring. On the surface, they say they won't bend for five measures of rice, but in fact they are rejecting their bosses. Even Christians can easily fall into the same trap if they are not clear about their position. Only by recognizing who our true Lord and boss is can Christians in the workplace be neither humble nor arrogant.
Gao Lili encouraged mid-level and senior managers to study the Bible, especially about Joseph (see Genesis 39:2-6, 21-23), Nehemiah (see Nehemiah 2:1-6) and Dan. Based on the records of Daniel (see Daniel 6:18-21), explore how they made full use of upward management in a hostile environment and successfully established a good relationship of mutual trust with their superiors.
After Potiphar, Joseph's superior, entrusted the whole family to him, he completely trusted him and stopped interfering because he knew that he was doing a good job. The reason why Nehemiah was so important was that he had a close relationship with King Artaxerxes. From the king's concern for him, we can understand that Nehemiah must be very loyal. He knew how to watch faces and find the most suitable time to communicate, which was when the queen was waiting. Nehemiah knew his goals clearly, and he also knew what the king valued, so that during negotiations, he could accommodate his wishes and reach a consensus.
Establish truth and resolve conflicts
Proverbs 21:1:"The king's heart is in the hand of God, like the water of a long ditch, flowing wherever he pleases."Gao Lili also reminded Christian managers to maintain this attitude when practicing principles. No matter how difficult it is, God is in control! Precisely because of their reliance on God, possessing heavenly wisdom and respecting their superiors, compared with non-Christians, the difficulty of upward management for Christians is relatively smaller.
In addition, the Bible often emphasizes "humility," an attitude that helps respect authority. Only by first having the awareness of respecting authority and recognizing one's own position can a good foundation for upward management be established. Only by knowing that you are a subordinate, not a boss, and that you should be humble and respect authority can you exert a positive influence on your boss.
Believers are often torn between "separating themselves into saints" and "being wise and protecting themselves." In fact, "sanctification" is not a passive dissent, but rather a positive attitude towards being an upright person. Even if you sacrifice or get fired, you should not be afraid and still firmly believe that your future is in God's hands.
Indeed, as long as people get along with each other, friction is always inevitable. Does the Chinese concept and habit of valuing peace make it difficult for Christians in the workplace to manage upward and face conflicts? In fact, for Christians, the focus of confronting and handling conflicts is not to deal with right and wrong, but to let us learn to face each other's differences. If you sincerely consider the other party and do not seek your own benefits, not only will conflicts not occur, but the final result will be able to resolve objections, reach consensus, and form a unified team with the highest loyalty, so that the final decision will present the most beautiful result, and all three parties will win!
Successful practical experience
Gao Lili has more than 20 years of experience in multinational management. With an engineering background, she is responsible for leading the "Continuous Improvement Department". Due to her excellent management performance, she was ordered to take over the company's "Team Training Department", from the most junior cadres to senior Vice President, she helped every one of them. Only then did we discover that changing the "corporate culture" is the key to a comprehensive breakthrough and sustained growth, and the first priority is to obtain high-level support so that it will not be empty talk.
She immediately took action and managed up! In monthly one-on-one work reports, ask your boss for twice the time to enhance mutual understanding and communication. Then, she made good use of her boss's strength of "deep empathy" and shared the good books she had read recently (especially the management series that provided specific solutions for improving corporate culture). I even sorted out the key points first, prepared an extra book for my boss, discussed it further with him, and when my boss was really interested, I suggested, "Is it possible for the entire leadership team to read this book?"
Gao Lili took the lead in stimulating a learning atmosphere among the leadership team. Every time the leadership team met, 15 minutes were arranged to discuss their reading experience, and team members took turns leading the reading. Gradually, every manager came to read. First, a common platform is established, the atmosphere of reading and discussion gradually takes shape, everyone's ideas begin to change, and the company's entire training course arrangement becomes much easier.
Gao Lili also took great risks to change the inventory management model of multinational companies and revise supply chain management, resulting in a triple jump in profits. The key lies in effective upward management.
In fact, she could choose not to do it and be at ease. It would be quite safe for the company to continue using the original method. However, after actuarial analysis, she was sure that she could save the company one to two hundred million US dollars in costs and double or triple the original inventory turnover rate. Effectiveness. Gao Lili said: "If you don't do it, your conscience will be uneasy."
It is not easy to challenge the operating model of a multinational company. Once you decide to invest, the challenge that comes your way is how to convince the company's relevant bosses and colleagues, including managers from factories in various countries. She first builds on a trusting relationship, carries out parallel management, sets clear figures and goals, and communicates tirelessly with her superiors and colleagues in a progressive manner.
At the same time, she also understands her boss's emotional buttons very well - she doesn't like to listen to gossip from her subordinates and likes an atmosphere where the team praises and affirms each other, so she also affirms others in front of her boss to create a good team atmosphere. Gradually, after everyone reached a consensus, they all believed that the boss had to do it in this direction, and finally the boss had to do it himself! In this successful practical experience, although the original idea to change the inventory management model came from her, she did not care whether the final credit went to herself, but instead tried her best to influence and assist her boss.
Being able to successfully manage upwards is the wisdom accumulated through experience, the learning in church service, and the inspiration she received when reading the Bible and praying. However, for Gao Lili, the Lord Jesus died on the cross for us, and He is the best example. I hope that Christians in the workplace can often return to the Lord, be constantly renewed in Christ, and desire to be close to God. Only in this way can faith be integrated with life. For Lili Gao, and for every Christian in the workplace, this is the key!
Ten Principles of Managing Up
Based on many years of practical experience and observation, Gao Lili summarized the ten principles of upward management:
1. Implement parallel management:Value peer relationships; take into account "downward management": cherish subordinate relationships and show basic strength to avoid flattery.
2. Improve listening, speaking, reading and writing:"Listen" to the true feelings behind the words; "Speak" the good words that comfort and edify others; "Read" the meaning hidden between the lines; "Write" the words that communicate with others. Find one or two communication strengths that best suit you, and continue to practice them until you see immediate results.
3. Avoid creating surprises:Good news or bad news, the less the better.
4. provide the solution︰Never complain, even if you can't think of the best solution at the moment, you must first think of a feasible way.
5. Be honest and trustworthy.Be loyal to your superiors, strive to express the truth, and never exaggerate or discredit the facts.
6. Loyal and committed.
7. Be considerate of your boss’s position:Understand your boss’s perceptions, preferences, and priorities. Inevitably, most bosses hope for a generous year-end bonus or want to make great achievements. When your boss's ideas and expectations may not be fair, you don't need to fully cater to them, but understanding them in advance will help you cope.
8. Do a good job in self-management,To identify your own management style, abilities and skills, please review the following items:
‧Look at your own strengths and weaknesses fairly, maintain appropriate balance and self-confidence, and be willing to seek help for your weaknesses.
‧Are you fully passionate about your work?
‧Are your personal work goals consistent with those of your organization?
‧Faced with the ever-changing business environment, are you able to embrace learning and be willing to change?
‧Continuously cultivate training and development capabilities.
‧When in a conflict, can you use your ability to arbitrate and reach consensus?
‧See the overall and long-term vision and pattern.
9. Understand your boss’s strengths and weaknesses,include:
‧Amplify the strengths of the boss and maximize the effectiveness of the team.
‧Know your boss’s emotional buttons and avoid mentioning the unhappy things about your boss. Using them appropriately can effectively appease your boss’s emotions.
‧Ask for feedback from your supervisor in a timely manner and seek improvement. 10. Keep appropriate boundaries:Do not cross the boundaries between authority and responsibility with your boss, do not do things behind the scenes, and maintain the principle of transparency.
Journalist profile
Li Yingfang is a graduate student in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. He has worked in the fields of finance and insurance, information security, education and training, and medical research; as an Oracle database programmer, project manager, and marketing manager. I like meeting people, enjoying sports, cooking, settling my thoughts through music, reading, and writing, and working hard to learn to live a balanced and all-round life!