Managing up
Is upwards feedback too great a challenge for leadership?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.31837Keywords:
employee voice, hierarchical politeness system, leadership, managing up, power, trustAbstract
‘Managing up’ is an activity reported to challenge many employees working in organisations and especially when it involves giving negative feedback about one’s boss to one’s boss. While it is largely a discursive practice, it has received little if any attention from applied linguists. This paper presents a case study of one such managing up activity in a Global 500 company. Using discourse analysis, the paper reports on critical moments that occurred prior to, during and following a sensitive meeting between one subordinate manager and her superior, and the withdrawal of support from and the enactment of power by their general manager to overrule the subordinate's managing-up initiatives, undermine their mentoring relationship, and erode the general manager’s influence through perceived lack of fairness. Analysis suggests that while managing up compromises the trust in and respect for the senior manager held by the subordinate, the experience offers an opportunity for her to critically evaluate the general manager’s practices against deeply-held personal values while offering those interested in leadership an opportunity to evaluate the senior manager’s leadership performance.
References
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Buckingham, M. and Coffman, C. (1999) First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Burris, E. R. (2012) The risks and rewards of speaking up: Managerial responses to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal 55 (4): 851?875. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0562
Buttny, R. (1993) Social Accountability in Communication. London: Sage.
Candlin, C. N. (2002) Alterity, perspective and mutuality in LSP research and practice. In M. Gotti, D. Heller and M. Dossena (eds) Conflict and Negotiation in Specialized Texts: Selected Papers of the 2nd CERLIS Conference, 21?40. Bern: Peter Lang.
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Carlone, K. and Hill, L. A. (2008) Managing Up: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Charan, R., Drotter, S. and Noel, J. (2001) The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Clark, T. (2004) The fashion of management fashion: A surge too far ? Organization 11 (2): 297?306. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508404030659
Detert, J. R. and Burris, E. R. (2007) Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open? Academy of Management Journal 50 (4): 869?884. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.26279183
Detert, J. R., Burris, E. R. and Harrison, D. A. (2010) Debunking four myths about employee silence. Harvard Business Review 88 (6): 26.
Detert, J. R. and Treviño, L. K. (2010) Speaking up to higher-ups: How supervisors and skip-level leaders influence employee voice. Organization Science 21 (1): 249?270. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1080.0405
Edwards, D. J. A., Dattilio, F. M. and Bromley, D. B. (2004) Developing evidence-based practice: The role of case-based research. Professional Psychology 35 (6): 589?597. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.35.6.589
Ellemers, N., de Gilder, D. and Haslam, S. A. (2004) Motivating individuals and groups at work: A social identity perspective on leadership and group performance. Academy of Management Review 29 (3): 459?478. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2004.13670967
Evered, R. D. and Selman, J. C. (1989) Coaching and the art of management. Organizational Dynamics 18 (2): 16?32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(89)90040-5
Fast, N. J., Burris, E. R. and Bartel, C. A. (2014) Managing to stay in the dark: Managerial self-efficacy, ego defensiveness, and the aversion to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal 57 (4): 1013?1034. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2012.0393
Foucault, M. (1982) The subject and power. Critical Inquiry 8 (4): 777–795. https://doi.org/10.1086/448181
French, J. R. P. and Raven, B. (1959) The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (ed.) Studies in Social Power, 150–167. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Gabarro, J. and Kotter, J. P. (1993) Managing your boss. Harvard Business Review 71 (3): 150–157.
Gove, T. G. (2008) The art of managing up. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 77 (6): 10?15.
Greatbatch, D. and Clark, T. (2005) Management Speak: Why We Listen to What Management Gurus Tell Us. London: Taylor & Francis.
Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D. and Platow, M. J. (2011) The New Psychology of Leadership: Identity, Influence and Power. New York: Psychology Press.
Hogg, M. A. (2010) Influence and leadership. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert and G. Lindzey (eds) The Handbook of Social Psychology (5th edition). Vol. 2: 1166?1206. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy002031
Jackson, S. W. (2001) The wounded healer. Bulletin of the History of Medicine 75 (1): 1?36. https://doi.org/10.1353/bhm.2001.0025
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. D. and Rosenthal, R. A. (1964) Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Kalidass, A. and Bahron, A. (2015) The relationship between perceived supervisor support, perceived organizational support, organizational commitment and employee turnover intention. International Journal of Business Administration 6 (5): 82?89. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijba.v6n5p82
Kish-Gephart, J. J., Detert, J. R., Treviño, L. K. and Edmondson, A. C. (2009) Silenced by fear: The nature, sources, and consequences of fear at work. Research in Organizational Behavior 29: 163–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2009.07.002
Linton, R. (1936) The Study of Man: An Introduction. New York: D. Appleton-Century.
Maertz, C. P., Griffeth, R. W., Campbell, N. S. and Allen, D. G. (2007) The effects of perceived organizational support and perceived supervisor support on employee turnover. Journal of Organizational Behavior 28 (8): 1059?1075. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.472
Milliken, F. J., Morrison, E. W. and Hewlin, P. F. (2003) An exploratory study of employee silence: Issues that employees don’t communicate upward and why. Journal of Management Studies 40 (6): 1435?1476. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00387
Roberts, C. and Sarangi, S. (2005) Theme-oriented discourse analysis of medical encounters. Medical Education 39 (6): 632–640. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02171.x
Sarangi, S. (2007) The anatomy of interpretation: Coming to terms with the analyst’s paradox in professional discourse studies. Text & Talk 27 (5–6): 567?584. https://doi.org/10.1515/TEXT.2007.025
Sarangi, S. (2010a) Practising discourse analysis in healthcare settings. In I. Bourgeault, R. Dingwall and R. de Vries (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Methods in Health Research, 397–416. London: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446268247.n21
Sarangi, S. (2010b) Reconfiguring self/identity/status/role: The case of professional role performance in healthcare encounters. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice 7 (1): 75?95. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v7i1.75
Sarangi, S. (2015) Experts on experts: Sustaining ‘communities of interest’ in professional discourse studies. In M. Gotti, S. Maci and M. Salas (eds) Insights into Medical Communication, 25?47. Bern: Peter Lang.
Schell, C. (1992) The Value of the Case Study as a Research Strategy. Manchester: Manchester Business School. Available online: http://www.finance-mba.com/Case%20Method.pdf
Scollon, R., Scollon, S. W. and Jones, R. H. (2012) Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach (3rd edition). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Scott, M. and Lyman, S. M. (1968) Accounts. American Sociological Review 33 (1): 46?62. https://doi.org/10.2307/2092239
Segal, S. (2010) A Heideggerian approach to practice-based reflexivity. Management Learning 41 (4): 379?389. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507609346367
Spillane, R. (2011) The Rise of Psychomanagement in Australia. Melbourne: Michelle Anderson.
Turner, J. C. (2005) Explaining the nature of power: A three-process theory. European Review of Social Psychology 35 (1): 1?22. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.244
van der Bom, I. and Mills, S. (2015) A discursive approach to the analysis of politeness data. Journal of Politeness Research 11 (2): 179–206. https://doi.org/10.1515/pr-2015-0008
Vine, B., Holmes, J., Marra, M., Pfeifer, D. and Jackson, B. (2008) Exploring co-leadership talk through interactional sociolinguistics. Leadership 4 (3): 339?360. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715008092389
Yin, R. (1981) The case study crisis: Some answers. Administrative Science Quarterly 26 (1): 58?65. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392599
Baldoni, J. (2010) Lead Your Boss: The Subtle Art of Managing Up. New York: Amacom.
Brady, J. (2011) Shaping managerial practice: How a supervising manager articulates her own embodied practices. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice 8 (3): 231?252.
Buckingham, M. and Coffman, C. (1999) First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Burris, E. R. (2012) The risks and rewards of speaking up: Managerial responses to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal 55 (4): 851?875. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0562
Buttny, R. (1993) Social Accountability in Communication. London: Sage.
Candlin, C. N. (2002) Alterity, perspective and mutuality in LSP research and practice. In M. Gotti, D. Heller and M. Dossena (eds) Conflict and Negotiation in Specialized Texts: Selected Papers of the 2nd CERLIS Conference, 21?40. Bern: Peter Lang.
Candlin, C. N. and Lucas, J. (1986) Interpretations and explanations in discourse: Modes of ‘advising’ in family planning. In T. Ensink, A. van Essen and T. van der Geest (eds) Discourse Analysis and Public Life: Papers of the Groningen Conference on Medical and Political Discourse, 13?38. Dordrecht: Foris.
Carlone, K. and Hill, L. A. (2008) Managing Up: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Charan, R., Drotter, S. and Noel, J. (2001) The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Clark, T. (2004) The fashion of management fashion: A surge too far ? Organization 11 (2): 297?306. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508404030659
Detert, J. R. and Burris, E. R. (2007) Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open? Academy of Management Journal 50 (4): 869?884. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.26279183
Detert, J. R., Burris, E. R. and Harrison, D. A. (2010) Debunking four myths about employee silence. Harvard Business Review 88 (6): 26.
Detert, J. R. and Treviño, L. K. (2010) Speaking up to higher-ups: How supervisors and skip-level leaders influence employee voice. Organization Science 21 (1): 249?270. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1080.0405
Edwards, D. J. A., Dattilio, F. M. and Bromley, D. B. (2004) Developing evidence-based practice: The role of case-based research. Professional Psychology 35 (6): 589?597. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.35.6.589
Ellemers, N., de Gilder, D. and Haslam, S. A. (2004) Motivating individuals and groups at work: A social identity perspective on leadership and group performance. Academy of Management Review 29 (3): 459?478. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2004.13670967
Evered, R. D. and Selman, J. C. (1989) Coaching and the art of management. Organizational Dynamics 18 (2): 16?32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(89)90040-5
Fast, N. J., Burris, E. R. and Bartel, C. A. (2014) Managing to stay in the dark: Managerial self-efficacy, ego defensiveness, and the aversion to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal 57 (4): 1013?1034. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2012.0393
Foucault, M. (1982) The subject and power. Critical Inquiry 8 (4): 777–795. https://doi.org/10.1086/448181
French, J. R. P. and Raven, B. (1959) The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (ed.) Studies in Social Power, 150–167. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Gabarro, J. and Kotter, J. P. (1993) Managing your boss. Harvard Business Review 71 (3): 150–157.
Gove, T. G. (2008) The art of managing up. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 77 (6): 10?15.
Greatbatch, D. and Clark, T. (2005) Management Speak: Why We Listen to What Management Gurus Tell Us. London: Taylor & Francis.
Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D. and Platow, M. J. (2011) The New Psychology of Leadership: Identity, Influence and Power. New York: Psychology Press.
Hogg, M. A. (2010) Influence and leadership. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert and G. Lindzey (eds) The Handbook of Social Psychology (5th edition). Vol. 2: 1166?1206. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy002031
Jackson, S. W. (2001) The wounded healer. Bulletin of the History of Medicine 75 (1): 1?36. https://doi.org/10.1353/bhm.2001.0025
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. D. and Rosenthal, R. A. (1964) Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Kalidass, A. and Bahron, A. (2015) The relationship between perceived supervisor support, perceived organizational support, organizational commitment and employee turnover intention. International Journal of Business Administration 6 (5): 82?89. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijba.v6n5p82
Kish-Gephart, J. J., Detert, J. R., Treviño, L. K. and Edmondson, A. C. (2009) Silenced by fear: The nature, sources, and consequences of fear at work. Research in Organizational Behavior 29: 163–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2009.07.002
Linton, R. (1936) The Study of Man: An Introduction. New York: D. Appleton-Century.
Maertz, C. P., Griffeth, R. W., Campbell, N. S. and Allen, D. G. (2007) The effects of perceived organizational support and perceived supervisor support on employee turnover. Journal of Organizational Behavior 28 (8): 1059?1075. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.472
Milliken, F. J., Morrison, E. W. and Hewlin, P. F. (2003) An exploratory study of employee silence: Issues that employees don’t communicate upward and why. Journal of Management Studies 40 (6): 1435?1476. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00387
Roberts, C. and Sarangi, S. (2005) Theme-oriented discourse analysis of medical encounters. Medical Education 39 (6): 632–640. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02171.x
Sarangi, S. (2007) The anatomy of interpretation: Coming to terms with the analyst’s paradox in professional discourse studies. Text & Talk 27 (5–6): 567?584. https://doi.org/10.1515/TEXT.2007.025
Sarangi, S. (2010a) Practising discourse analysis in healthcare settings. In I. Bourgeault, R. Dingwall and R. de Vries (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Methods in Health Research, 397–416. London: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446268247.n21
Sarangi, S. (2010b) Reconfiguring self/identity/status/role: The case of professional role performance in healthcare encounters. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice 7 (1): 75?95. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v7i1.75
Sarangi, S. (2015) Experts on experts: Sustaining ‘communities of interest’ in professional discourse studies. In M. Gotti, S. Maci and M. Salas (eds) Insights into Medical Communication, 25?47. Bern: Peter Lang.
Schell, C. (1992) The Value of the Case Study as a Research Strategy. Manchester: Manchester Business School. Available online: http://www.finance-mba.com/Case%20Method.pdf
Scollon, R., Scollon, S. W. and Jones, R. H. (2012) Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach (3rd edition). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Scott, M. and Lyman, S. M. (1968) Accounts. American Sociological Review 33 (1): 46?62. https://doi.org/10.2307/2092239
Segal, S. (2010) A Heideggerian approach to practice-based reflexivity. Management Learning 41 (4): 379?389. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507609346367
Spillane, R. (2011) The Rise of Psychomanagement in Australia. Melbourne: Michelle Anderson.
Turner, J. C. (2005) Explaining the nature of power: A three-process theory. European Review of Social Psychology 35 (1): 1?22. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.244
van der Bom, I. and Mills, S. (2015) A discursive approach to the analysis of politeness data. Journal of Politeness Research 11 (2): 179–206. https://doi.org/10.1515/pr-2015-0008
Vine, B., Holmes, J., Marra, M., Pfeifer, D. and Jackson, B. (2008) Exploring co-leadership talk through interactional sociolinguistics. Leadership 4 (3): 339?360. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715008092389
Yin, R. (1981) The case study crisis: Some answers. Administrative Science Quarterly 26 (1): 58?65. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392599
Published
2018-12-31
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Brady, J. (2018). Managing up: Is upwards feedback too great a challenge for leadership?. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 13(1-3), 34-55. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.31837
