About this course
Almost everyone has finished the sentence "How do I get my boss to...?" This course takes the question seriously, and then looks at the one underneath it. You cannot control your boss. You can lead up: influence the person who has power over you, with strategy instead of complaint. The course follows Duane's book, How Do I Get My Boss To...? The Handbook on Leading Up, and teaches its seventeen Keys in five sections.
Section A, You and the Relationship (Keys 1 to 4): lead and manage yourself, accept that your boss is your boss, never complain about your boss to anyone, and make your boss look good. Section B, Owning the Work (Keys 5 to 9): think like the owner, take initiative, keep your boss in the loop, don't act entitled, and offer solutions. Section C, Your Voice and Your Record (Keys 10 to 12): come prepared, make your accomplishments known, and seek honest feedback. Section D, Judgment (Keys 13 to 15): the undesirable work, when to speak up and when to stay quiet, and being proactive. Section E, Trust and Access (Keys 16 and 17): proving you are trustworthy, and the inner circle. It closes with what to do when you have done everything right, and your next ninety days.
Each Key is taught the same way: the idea, a story from Duane's career, the tools, a short exercise on your own situation, often a case you decide before you hear what happened, and a workbook page.
Who it is for
- Anyone who reports to someone, and wants the relationship with that person to work for both of them.
- People who do strong work and find it misread, under-credited or invisible to the person who decides.
- Middle managers, who lead up and down at the same time.
Learning objectives and outcomes
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Find the question underneath. Turn "How do I get my boss to...?" into the question you can act on, and test whether your boss is reasonable before you decide what to do.
- Lead yourself first. Handle the hard moments so your boss never has to manage you, and accept the structure you work inside.
- Turn complaint into direction. Take frustration to the one person who can change it, privately and with facts.
- Own the work. Act like the owner, take initiative without going around your boss, and bring the problem with a way through.
- Keep your boss informed and prepared. Update without surprises, come in knowing why you came, and make your results known with your name in the sentence.
- Ask for feedback and use judgment. Get honest feedback, take on the work nobody wants for the right reasons, and speak up early, once, and without pointing.
- Build trust over time. Combine competence with concern, earn your way into the inner circle, and decide, with a count, when the problem is not you.
What is included
The Participant Booklet keeps the seventeen Keys, every framework drawn, the words that make them work, and the dated record that protects you. The Participant Workbook is where you do the practice, one page per Key, ending with your ninety-day plan. The videos tell you when to pause and turn to a page. Nothing you write is collected.
Chapters
20 chapters, 3 h 12 min of video.
- 00Welcome4:17
The question you bring, and the one under it.
- 01What Leading Up Means10:38
Influence, aimed at the person above you.
- 02Key 1: Lead and Manage Yourself Exceptionally Well11:37
What does this person do when it gets hard?
- 03Key 2: Accept the Reality, Your Boss Is Your Boss10:00
Stop arguing with the structure.
- 04Key 3: Never Complain About Your Boss to Anyone11:26
Not silence. Direction.
- 05Key 4: Make Your Boss Look Good10:11
Their standing is the ceiling on yours.
- 06Key 5: Think and Act Like the Owner10:48
If this were mine, what would I do differently?
- 07Key 6: Take Initiative, Make Your Boss's Job Easier9:39
Start in your boss's office, not around it.
- 08Key 7: Always Keep Your Boss in the Loop11:09
Bad news gets more expensive every hour you hold it.
- 09Key 8: Don't Feel and Act Entitled7:47
One expects. The other proves.
- 10Key 9: Offer Solutions, Not Just Problems9:01
Describe the system, not the scapegoat.
- 11Key 10: Be Prepared, Don't Waste Your Boss's Time7:50
Know why you came, in one sentence.
- 12Key 11: Make Your Accomplishments Known7:32
Put your name in the sentence.
- 13Key 12: Seek Honest Feedback from Your Boss9:23
No news is not good news.
- 14Key 13: Be Willing to Do What's Undesirable to Everyone Else12:25
The work nobody wants is never neutral.
- 15Key 14: Know When to Speak Up and When to Shut Up11:00
Early, once, and without pointing.
- 16Key 15: Be Proactive9:44
Do the worrying while it is still cheap.
- 17Key 16: Prove That You're Trustworthy8:06
Competence plus concern, held over time.
- 18Key 17: Get Into Your Boss's Inner Circle9:44
An offer, then a test nobody announces.
- 19Putting the Keys to Work9:15
When you've done everything right.