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Communicating Up:
How Effective Communication with the CEO and Executives Will Help You Survive and Thrive in Your Company
By Meredith O'Connor
With the crises on Wall Street and never-ending talks of a recession, many Americans are worried about saving their jobs and their finances. A poll conducted by CNN/Opinion Research between Sept. 19 and 21 showed that 32% of Americans believe the crisis already affects them or their immediate families, and another 58% of Americans believe it will affect them eventually. Only 9% of the 502 adult Americans polled by CNN/Opinion Research for the question believe the crisis will never affect them.1
In recent years the stumbling stock market seemed to be affecting only Wall Street and financial services industries. As the recent poll results show, worries are trickling down from Wall Street to Main Street.
Building Relationships is One Key to Securing a Job
Jack Carter had landed his dream job as an engineer for one of the world’s oldest and most respected manufacturers. Just two months after he was hired, however, the company announced projected layoffs due to the declining economy. Jack and his colleagues who had been hired at the same time were worried; in terms of tenure, they were low on the totem pole.
Jack set out to take a proactive approach to securing his job. He made it a point to reach out to management and form relationships with the VPs and executives of the company. He frequently struck up conversation with managers in the lunchroom or at the water cooler. He would make it a point to share his thoughts about the projects they had going on and to offer solutions to problems. Most impressively, he took time out from his personal schedule to attend a weekly outing that he knew the VPs and executives attended.
When layoff time came around, Jack’s colleagues were scrambling to find ways to make sure their jobs would be safe. Jack, on the other hand, was confident that he would make it through the cuts. Through his informal conversations with VPs and executives, he had proved to them that he was an asset to the company. His job was safe and secure.
It All Comes Down to Communicating Up
For stock brokers, engineers, bank tellers, skilled laborers, and recent college graduates, one job success strategy remains consistent, and that’s communicating effectively with managers, colleagues, and executives.
In a July 2008 Bates Communications survey of 85 business leaders, 80% of respondents said that it’s very important to be able to communicate effectively and clearly with the CEO or board of directors of their companies.2
It’s assumed that if someone is employed in a certain profession that they have the skills required to get their jobs done. However, when jobs are on the line, or management is looking to promote people, the qualities that make one candidate stand out above the rest are motivation, ambition, and reliability. An employer or manager can’t be sure of a person’s motivation, ambition, and reliability unless one “communicates up” that they have it all.
So how does a motivated, ambitious, reliable professional communicate with their boss, CEO, and company executives?
Deciphering Executives’ Communication Style
Each and every person has a set of personality qualities that make up their distinct communication style, or their unique mix of communication styles. BEST Instruments, an assessment company, developed the BEST Profile, which helps people determine and understand their personality patterns and communication style.3 The tool helps people develop awareness about the pros and cons of their style(s) and how to most effectively communicate with people of other styles.
Deciphering the communication style(s) of a boss or executive is a tried-and-true
way to ensure appropriate, effective communications are had with them. The
short summary of the wants and needs of each style is below. It’s
helpful to look at the “wants” column as being the preferred
communication approach with a boss or executive who encompasses that style.
| Style | Wants | Needs |
| Bold | Challenges Freedom Power Quick results Authority Action Change |
To learn and listen To attend to details To be aware of others To follow |
| Expressive | Popularitys Influence Acceptance To be around people To persuade |
To manage time To be objective To set goals To attend to details To control talking |
| Sympathetic | Adjustment time Stability Appreciation Schedule |
To set deadlines To use lead time To get attention To be understood |
| Technical | Organization Rules Standards Explanations Little risk |
To make quicker decisions To use more power To take quicker action To take risks |
Aside from communication style, everyone has preferences to communication methods. For example, a veteran executive who is near retirement may prefer to communicate via phone or in-person as opposed to through e-mail. Conversely, a “Gen X” boss within a high-tech firm may prefer communications happen through e-mail and even text message or Facebook.
Employees who want to succeed in their companies and stand out from colleagues can make the most impact on the executives and management of their companies by understanding and using the preferred communication method for that particular person. Evaluating the communication styles and preferences of a boss or executive is essential for “communicating up” in a clear and effective way.
Someone Who’s Done it Right
Rosanne Badowski spent fifteen years as an assistant and “right hand woman” to Jack Welch, the legendary former CEO of GE. In her book, Managing Up, (Currency Books, 2003) she reveals her secrets to developing and maintaining a great relationship with one of the world’s most powerful businesspeople.
Badowski writes “I believe that what I do for a living depends on the successful application of the art and science of managing up, down, and sideways. Managing and management are not dirty words, nor are they the exclusive property of those with MBA degrees.4” This sentiment can be applied to not only executive assistants; but to engineers, bank tellers, skilled laborers, recent college graduates, and anyone else who doesn’t have “manager” in their title. The same applies to communications; just because the technical hierarchy of a company states that a boss or executive communicates down, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for “communicating up.”
More Tips for “Communicating Up”
Every professional in every industry can use the following tips and strategies to build effective relationships with their boss, managers, and executives. Doing so is always important, but even more so when promotions are happening or layoffs are impending.
- Make small talk with the boss, manager, or company executive whenever possible.
- However, be mindful of their time – if they’re running into a meeting or seem focused on something, keep the small talk to a minimum.
- Make an effort to attend company outings, informal social gatherings after work, and company parties; any event where conversation with managers and executives is possible.
- Tell stories – personal and professional. Stories help people remember you, remember what you’re all about, and keep you on the top of their minds.
- Ask questions about what the boss, manager, or executive has on their mind. What problems are they facing, what projects are they working on, and what can you do to help them?
- Volunteer to present or speak at company meetings. Any chance to get in front of management will only help raise visibility in the company.
1 CNNMoney.com, “Crisis will impact most
Americans – poll”, http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/23/news/economy/poll_financial_crisis/
index.htm?postversion=2008092312
2 http://www.surveyconsole.com/console/listSummaryReport.do?enableStatisticalDetails=true
3 http://www.bestinstruments.net
4 Badowski, Rosanne. Managing Up.
Currency Books, 2003.
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"As a result of Bates' training…our executives are far better communicators than ever before, and the results show in our increasingly positive press and ability to move these audiences to action."
Matt Davis,
Corp. Director of Executive Communications,
Dow Chemical Co.
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