Managing Up and Across

In a large company it's often hard to be heard beyond your own department or manager. I've found a good way to get heard is to network with colleagues in other departments, I suppose in a way this is what business books would call "managing up and across".

Managing Up and Across

In a large company it's often hard to be heard beyond your own department or manager. I've found a good way to get heard is to network with colleagues in other departments, I suppose in a way this is what business books would call "managing up and across".

For example, we used to have Hackathons but these stopped. Why? There was no reason. I contacted a few people with reasons why we should start them up (there are many good reasons, a proper business case and often a measurable return on investment). Hey-presto, the ball was rolling and I was helping organise it.

We also used to have Lunch & Learns. Everyone loves free pizza, but these stopped too. Why? It's also a good opportunity to do some more presenting and public speaking so I wrote a powerpoint, arranged lunch paid by the company and just did it. The feedback from this was awesome and put a spark into many of my colleagues. Our CIO now wants to spread the concept across the company (again).

Some jealous colleagues might whisper words of disapproval, but ignore them. The bottom line is these simple ideas have a clear business goal but also will have a positive effect on your career. Your name will be heard in the higher ranks and more doors will open for you.

Striving to make the company better will make you better too.