In a recent Wall Street Journal article, “The Right and Wrong Way to Manage Up at the Office”, professionals, including Laura Williams, an Associate Financial Advisor at Sensible Financial, weigh in on the importance of understanding your boss’s style in maintaining a healthy work environment and moving ahead in your career. Managing up involves employees developing positive relationships with senior managers. For instance, Williams knows if her boss, Rick Miller, Sensible’s chief executive, is a couple minutes late for an appointment with her, it’s fine for her to knock on his door and remind him, the exception being when he’s on a call with a client. Since Miller makes a notation in his shared calendar identifying client meetings, Williams can knock on his door knowing she’s not interrupting a client. That kind of workplace confidence empowers employees to work smarter and feel like they’re important members of the team.
With client satisfaction as the ultimate Sensible Financial goal, Miller appreciates the benefit of having a strong, empowered team working together to achieve it. As a result, Sensible Financial values professional staff career development very highly. Managing up and getting timely management input is essential both for consummate teamwork and for professional growth, and Sensible Financial includes it as an important factor in performance reviews.