John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do

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Managing Your Boss

John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter

TO MANY PEOPLE, the phrase managing your boss may sound unusual or suspicious. Because of the traditional topdown emphasis in most organizations, it is not obvious why you need to manage relationships upward—unless, of course, you would do so for personal or political reasons. But we are not referring to political maneuvering or to apple polishing. We are using the term to mean the process of consciously working with your superior to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss, and the company.

Recent studies suggest that effective managers take time and effort to manage not only relationships with their subordinates but also those with their bosses. These studies also show that ...