How to Keep Your Boss Updated

Hi there, I'm Ben Morton and welcome to the Leaders Kit Bag, your go to podcast for practical leadership insights in just six minutes. In each episode we tackle real challenges faced by leaders and managers, offering actionable tools and strategies you can take away and immediately apply. And because leadership doesn't happen in a studio, there's these episodes are mostly recorded outside on the move. They're raw, unscripted and straight to the point. So wherever you are, let's dive in and sharpen your leadership skills six minutes at a time. Have you ever had that moment when your boss suddenly asks for an update about progress or what's happening in your team and you and you suddenly realize you've been so busy leading your team that you've completely forgotten about managing up and keeping them updated on progress and achievements within the team? Or perhaps your boss is asking for information that you've absolutely shared before and then you realize that for whatever reason, your message hasn't quite been landing or getting through with them. If either of those scenarios resonate, then today's episode of the Leader's Kit Bag is absolutely for you. I have got three tips for you to help keep your boss informed whilst developing trust and protecting your own degree of freedom and autonomy. So tip number one is to focus on what they care about the most. If you pay attention to what your boss says, their behaviours, or even take a look in their diary if it's shared, you will soon get a picture of the things that they care about the most. And then once you understand that, our job is very simple to keep them updated on those topics, to give them that warm, cosy feeling that we are in control. We need to strive to proactively give them the updates so we are sharing the information that they want the most before they have to come to us and ask about. Could be about sales opportunities, it could be risks, or it could be stakeholder feedback or noise. Whatever it is, work out what your boss cares about the most and then do your absolute best to ensure you are giving them that information and those updates before they need to ask. The second tip for proactively managing your boss and giving them this warm, cosy feeling is to develop a rhythm of updates that they can rely on. Work out what works best for your boss, not necessarily what works best for you. It could be a brief weekly roundup by email, it could be a set agenda in a weekly catch up and or a much more detailed monthly update. The key, as I said, is to work out what works for them and then stick to that rhythm or cadence of updates. Consistency builds credibility and trust. And when your boss knows that they can trust you and they're going to get the updates they need, then their tendency to micromanage you will be significantly reduced. So tip two is develop a rhythm that your boss can rely on. And then my third and final tip is to highlight both the wins and the potential risks within your team. In terms of the wins, your boss won't necessarily know about all of the achievements, the successes that are happening within your team. Maybe they should, but the reality is they probably don't. So this isn't about office politics or blowing our own trumpet, but it is about demonstrating our competence and the effectiveness of our team to our boss. And when we do that, they start to trust us. They see us as reliable and competent, so therefore they feel the need to check up on us much less. Exactly the same is true about highlighting potential risks early by flagging potential risks, by suggesting possible solutions or for asking support early. Once again we give them that warm, cosy feeling that we're not trying to hide anything. They know that we are sharing everything about what is going on in the team and that builds trust. So there you have it folks. Three tips to help you proactively manage upwards to build trust with your boss whilst developing and protecting your sense of autonomy. Meaning you are far less likely to to be micromanaged. If you're finding these Leaders Kit Bag videos and podcasts useful, then head over to my website@Ben Morton.com where you can sign up for my Leaders Kit Bag email where you get regular updates plus a whole heap more ideas, tips and tactics like this to help you be the best leader you can possibly be. That's it for this episode. As always, look after yourself and those you've got the privilege and responsibility to lead. Until next time, lead on.