# What do you do when senior managers are part of the problem?

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/09/01/what-do-you-do-when-senior-managers-are-part-problem/
- Published: 2009-09-01T13:17:01+01:00
- Author: Kevin Baughen

My blog this week is a real-world question and a call for your thoughts and views.
Over the years I have dealt with numerous teams across a variety of organisations
and in all but the smallest minority of cases, the ‘functional’ teams have described
their ‘leadership’ as part of the problem they face rather than helping to introduce
new solutions.

And I should add that as a former director I’ve therefore undoubtedly exacerbated
someone else’s problems too!

So what do you do when those at the top are making things harder instead of better
for your immediate team or in pursuit of your specific objectives?

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I haven’t found the ideal answer yet.  I’ve listened to the advice of others, tried
a few ideas of my own, won some great battles and crashed and burned on others. 
There is a raft of theory on what’s loosely termed upward management and I’ve even
attended a course or too but I’m still to find the perfect solution to getting leaders
to help me achieve, rather than slow me down.

What do you do in these situations?  Could you share a few practical ideas to help
your fellow fundraisers and communications teams?  To start the ball rolling, here
are some thoughts based on real-world successes (and the odd cock-up):

 * Like any other audience you try to target, you need an understanding of leadership’s
   wants and needs and how to communicate them in a way that will be positively 
   received and elicit the action you want.

 * Try to find out what issues are occupying them right now?  It might be that something
   major is happening which means ideas have to be put on hold and not that they
   are just preventing progress.

 * Seek the opinion of those who know the leaders concerned better than you – they
   will be able to help you understand what works and what doesn’t, from personal
   experience.

 * Wherever possible, translate what you are trying to communicate into their language.
   Think about the big picture, budget performance, short or long term overviews
   etc.

 * Find a ‘friend’ from within the senior group who can act as an ambassador or 
   a champion for your idea, project or plan.  They probably won’t be the person
   who ultimately approves the decisions but they can help to persuade the other
   leaders when you aren’t there.  **BUT** be aware that this can be seen as not
   using proper channels so be sure that you are picking the right individual and
   not that you are just going over your manager’s head to get what you want.  I’ve
   seen some horrible consequences of teams engaging directors to ‘thump’ senior
   managers!  It should be about positive influence and shared understanding of 
   the issues at hand.

 * Make sure you are open and available to answer questions, however inconvenient
   they might be.  Senior leaders, in spite of themselves, like to have answers 
   at their fingertips wherever possible when trying to make decisions.

 * Ask a friend from outside the organisation to give you an honest opinion of the
   situation, based on the facts.  It might be that your approach isn’t striking
   the right chord with senior management.  They might also be able to tell you 
   whether the situation is retrievable and help prevent you from wasting your time.

 * Sometimes, senior managers believe a third party expert or a consultant rather
   than their own teams.  Sorry, but this is true.  Perhaps you could engage a relevant
   expert (or a volunteer) to help steer a course through the barriers that are 
   in your way.

 * For the same reason, it’s OK to recommend a seminar or a speaker to your senior
   team if you think it makes sense for them to talk about an idea instead of you.

 * Try to remember that in all but a very few cases, decisions aren’t personal so
   push forward as much as you can but recognise when the timing for a particular
   idea might not be right.  In this case, move onto your next idea and keep going
   forwards.

When the issues are more personal, trade unions, the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, your
own HR colleagues (where appropriate) can also offer excellent advice.  I don’t 
profess to be an expert on industrial relations, so make sure you do seek expert
advice if your issues are serious.

Please do share any ideas you have to help in this difficult area. I will collate
any information gathered for a full article to share with as wide an audience as
possible.

 

Kevin is the Founder of [Bottom Line Ideas](http://www.bottomlineideas.com)

 

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