A Deep-Dive in Managing-Up for Career-Minded Professionals

This course is designed to empower you with the tools and strategies needed to enhance your professional relationship with your boss. The curriculum is crafted to provide a comprehensive exploration of key concepts, practical skills, and actionable insights. By engaging with each module, you will gain valuable expertise in managing your interactions with your boss, fostering open communication, and driving your career success. 

This course spans 12 modules over four weeks, with three modules each week. Below is a comprehensive overview of the modules, highlighting key themes and learning outcomes to guide your journey through the course:

Module 1 - Congruence: Congruence in managing up involves aligning your personal and career vision with your boss’s expectations and objectives. By creating clear life and career missions and defining SMART goals, you establish a strong foundation for proactive communication and collaboration, ensuring that your professional aspirations are in harmony with your boss’s priorities:

•  Create your life vision (your destination).
•  Create your life mission (your road map).
•  Create your personal career vision: Subset of your life vision; destination for your career.
• Develop your career mission statement: subset of your life mission; roadmap for your career.
• Create and define SMART goals.

Module 2 - Your Personal Psychology and Boss Relationship Success - Understanding that personal psychology profoundly influences professional behaviors towards boss relationships is crucial for achieving success in managing your relationship with your manager. This section delves into:  

• How past experiences shape current boss interactions and clarify the difference between reactions and reactivations, providing you with insights to enhance your professional effectiveness. 
• Inseparability of personal psychology from your professional behaviors towards your boss.
• Exploring the myth of separating personal psychology from work.
• Earlier bosses and colleagues.
• Importance of self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
• Understanding the difference between 'Reaction' and 'Reactivations'.
• The inseparability of personal and professional realms.
• The importance of self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

Module 3 - Three Dimensions of Manifestation - To excel in managing up, it is crucial to master the three key dimensions that drive the manifestation of a great boss relationship:

• First Dimension: Developing hard skills ensures technical proficiency and industry knowledge that support your role. 
• Second Dimension: Enhancing soft skills, such as leadership and communication, fosters stronger relationships and effective collaboration with your boss and others. 
• Third Dimension: Strategic Change & Transformation: Once hard skills and soft skills are firmly in place, the third dimension involves addressing subconscious beliefs and barriers that might keep the discord in place. 
• Integrated Approach:
• Combine hard skills, soft skills, and subconscious change work for a comprehensive transformation strategy.
• Align skills and mindset to align yourself with your boss, ensuring a cohesive strategy for managing up and achieving professional goals.

Module 4 - The Three As of Change & Transformation - Once you have identified the need for subconscious change and transformation work, mastering the three As—Awareness, Accountability, and Action—becomes crucial for effective managing up:

• First A - Awareness: Recognize the link between your earlier life dynamics and workplace issues. Identify how past roles and behaviors influence current professional challenges. Understand the impact of these dynamics on behavior, relationships, and decision-making at work.
• Second A - Accountability: Examine and confront your own beliefs, attitudes, and behavior patterns. Acknowledge your role in shaping current professional circumstances and outcomes. Embrace responsibility for subconscious choices and their impact on your career trajectory. 
• Third A - Action: Implement changes based on insights gained from awareness and accountability. Reframe and remap subconscious beliefs to alter behaviors and achieve desired outcomes. Take deliberate action to reshape subconscious patterns and enhance professional effectiveness.  Foster a proactive stance to achieve lasting transformation and career fulfillment. Transform challenges into opportunities for growth and create a positive work environment

Module 5 - Introduction to Managing Up – You will learn how and why mastering the art of Managing Up is not just a career enhancement—it is a game-changer for professional advancement and workplace harmony. In this section, we will explore the critical objectives and undeniable importance of managing up, unveiling how this strategic skill can propel your career forward and transform workplace dynamics. Learn how effectively managing your relationship with your boss can unlock new growth opportunities, elevate your influence, and drive exceptional results: 

Module 6 - ‘Depersonalize’ your interactions with your boss - To truly excel in managing up, it is essential to ‘depersonalize’ your interactions with your boss by addressing the underlying subconscious beliefs that shape your behavior. This section delves into how deeply ingrained, often hidden beliefs—shaped by past authority figures—affect your current workplace dynamics. 

We will guide you through techniques for uncovering these limiting beliefs, recognizing their patterns and triggers, and developing effective strategies to reframe and transform them. By working to understand and shift these subconscious patterns, you will enhance your interactions and build more productive, positive relationships with your boss:

• Addressing Subconsciously Held Limiting Beliefs.
• The Role of the Subconscious Mind· Influence of subconscious beliefs on behavior.
• Early authority figures and their impact on current workplace dynamics.
• Identifying Limiting Beliefs· Techniques for uncovering subconscious beliefs.
• Recognizing patterns and triggers.
• Reframing and Remapping Beliefs· Strategies for changing limiting beliefs.
• Working with professionals to address and transform subconscious patterns. 

Module 7 - Building Communication and Interaction Skills - Mastering the art of managing up hinges on developing exceptional communication and interaction skills that foster a productive relationship with your boss. In this section, we focus on adopting a consultant mindset to maintain objectivity and understand your boss's needs, positioning yourself as a strategic partner. You'll learn how to refine your communication by being clear and concise, practicing active listening, and adapting your style to your boss's preferences. Additionally, we will cover effective conflict resolution and problem-solving techniques to address conflicts constructively and create mutually beneficial solutions, ensuring your interactions drive positive outcomes and enhance your professional rapport:

• Adopt a consultant mindset.
• Maintaining objectivity and understanding boss's needs.
• Positioning yourself as a strategic partner.
• Building effective communication skills.
• Clear and concise communication.
• Active listening techniques.
• Tailoring communication style to your boss's preferences.
• Conflict resolution and problem-solving.
• Addressing conflicts constructively.
• Problem-solving mindset and techniques.
• Creating mutually beneficial solutions.

Module 8 - Understanding Your Boss's Goals and Priorities - Gaining a clear understanding of your boss's goals and priorities is crucial for effective management and career advancement. This section delves into the strategies for regular check-ins and alignment through one-on-one meetings, ensuring you stay attuned to your boss's objectives. By actively supporting their goals and engaging in proactive problem-solving, you'll learn to anticipate challenges and present well-thought-out solutions. This proactive approach not only demonstrates foresight and initiative but also solidifies your role as a valuable and strategic partner in achieving organizational success:

• Regular check-ins and alignment.
• Scheduling one-on-one meetings.
• Understanding and supporting your boss's objectives.
• Proactive problem-solving.
• Anticipating issues and presenting solutions.
• Demonstrating foresight and initiative.

Module 9 - Managing and Using Constructive Feedback to Succeed - Harnessing the power of constructive feedback is essential for personal and professional growth. In this section, we explore the art of seeking and receiving feedback effectively, emphasizing techniques for soliciting measurable insights and maintaining an open, receptive attitude. You'll learn to create a robust feedback loop that fosters continuous improvement and aligns your mission and vision with your professional actions. By focusing on mutual problem-solving and empowering your boss to become an ‘obstacle remover,’ you can transform feedback into a powerful tool for overcoming challenges and achieving success:

• Seeking and receiving feedback.
• Techniques for soliciting measurable feedback.
• Importance of an open and receptive attitude.
•  Creating a feedback loop for continuous improvement.
• Continuous alignment of your mission and vision with your professional actions.
• Mutual problem solving.
• Help your boss be an ‘obstacle remover’ for you.

Module 10 - Deeper Skill Building for Effective Managing Up - Developing the skills for effective managing up is crucial for fostering a productive and harmonious work relationship with your boss. This section focuses on honing essential skills like active listening and clear communication, and how to adapt these techniques to fit your boss's style. You will learn strategies for building trust and credibility, setting mutual goals, and creating win-win situations. Emphasis is placed on being coachable, demonstrating humility, and seeking feedback for continuous growth. Additionally, discover the power of networking and relationship building to enhance your visibility and influence within your organization, driving collaborative problem-solving and overall career success:

• Active listening and clear communication,
• Practicing active listening and clear communication techniques,
• Tailoring communication to match your boss's style
• Building trust and credibility.
• Setting mutual goals with your boss,
• Creating a win-win situation for both parties,
• Being coachable and teachable.
• Demonstrating humility and a willingness to learn.
• Seeking clarification and feedback for continuous improvement.
• Collaborative problem solving.
• Networking and Relationship Building to enhance visibility and influence.
• Importance of networking within your organization.

Module 11 - Setting the Stage for Sustainable Success - One-Life Balance - Achieving sustainable upward success involves not just excelling in your role but also maintaining a healthy balance between your personal and professional life. This section will guide you through implementing effective time management techniques and integrating your personal and professional spheres harmoniously. Learn strategies to maintain balance, prevent burnout, and set clear boundaries while prioritizing long-term self-care. By mastering these principles, you will set the stage for enduring success and well-being in all aspects of your life:

• Implementing balance in daily life.
• Time management techniques.
• Integrating personal and professional life harmoniously.
• Strategies for maintaining balance and avoiding burnout.
• Deciding and Setting boundaries and prioritizing long-term self-care, allowing for exceptions.

Module 12 - Conclusion and Next Steps - As we conclude the Managing Up workshop, it's time to reflect on your journey and chart your path forward. This final segment will provide a comprehensive review of the key takeaways and personal growth achieved throughout the course. You will craft a personalized action plan to implement what you have learned, set milestones to ensure continued progress, and commit to ongoing development through weekly online meetings. With these steps, you will be well-prepared to sustain and enhance your success in managing up and advancing your career:

• Review and reflection.
• Summarizing key takeaways from the course.
• Reflecting on personal growth and changes.
• Create the 'Action Plan for Managing Up'.
• Developing a personalized action plan.
• Setting milestones for continued development and success.
• Attending weekly on-line general meetings.