Please respond to the following:

1. The term “manage upward” applies to those managers and leaders who are lacking in skills to the degree that subordinate employees are compelled to be assertive and take action. Which management and/or leadership techniques could work best in this situation? Explain why you chose the techniques you listed.

2. If you found yourself managing a group of individuals running circles around you then I would suggest using your ‘legitimate’ power as the boss to create benchmarks where these over achievers would have to define their progress on the job or process they were working on. I would further suggest demanding that you were involved in the decision making process at their level. If your ego gets in the way you could stifle their creativity so the goal would not be to enforce your decision but to merely be a part of the process. Often times just allowing yourself to be a soundboard for them will positions yourself in a more strengthened leadership role.

On the other hand, if you found yourself running circles around your boss, then I would suggest a different tactic. Out shining your boss can often times be more hurtful to your career than helpful. It would be better to empathize with your boss’s position and try and earn yourself a ‘referent’ leadership role between the two of you. If you can prove to your boss that he or she can trust you, not to ‘stab him or her in the back’ and trust you to be knowledgeable in the project, then you would be in a better position to drive that particular boss to the conclusion you had envisioned for the project.

3. The management/leadership technique that could work well for leaders lacking in skills in comparison to their subordinates is referent power. By using referent power the manager is gaining loyalty, respect and trust which would make them more supportive of the manager; which could lead to knowledge being shared from the employees to the manager. Being supportive and respected goes a long way when managing others.

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1 In cases where the leaders or managers lack the required skills and the subordinate employees are more skillful and are thus required to take action ... View the full answer