Dave Kline Profile picture
Nov 18 9 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Your excuses are hurting your career.

Here's how you should be managing up:
Excuse: I shouldn't have to suck up to my manager.

Reality: But you do have to report up. If they need to ask you about your work, you're already behind.
Excuse: My achievements should be recognized on merit alone.

Reality: They cannot be everywhere. So how exactly will they notice unless you tell them?
Excuse: They don't help when I bring them my problems.

Reality: They don't pay you to bring problems. They pay you to solve them.
Excuse: They're never available.

Reality: There is always time for people who are doing vital work excellently. Is that you?
Excuse: It's a waste of time. They're not technical.

Reality: But they have different perspectives and connections in the org. Leverage them.
High-performers know that managing up matters.

Keep it simple. Once a week:
- Reaffirm your goals
- Share the progress metrics
- Highlight problems & your solution
- Solicit specific feedback from them

The key: Answer the questions they didn't ask.
Want to learn the system I used to get my team to operate in this way?

Join our free 30-minute Lightning Lesson this Thursday @ 1 pm ET.
maven.com/p/9581b1/how-t…
If this thread was valuable, please give me a follow @dklineii. I write daily about the tactics for leading high-performing teams.

And if you think others could benefit from managing up effectively, please RT♻️ the tweet below to share.

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More from @dklineii

Nov 16
6 Predictable Mistakes Every Manager Makes

(plus practical tips to avoid them):
Mistake: Hiring for skills, compromising on character.

Fix: Hire for values and compromise on skills, especially those you're good at developing.

Tip: Find the one behavior your company can't tolerate—screen for that first in the interview process.
Mistake: Confusing feedback for coaching

Fix: Follow a basic coaching process.
- Employee self-assesses
- Agree on the gap to close
- Build a plan of training & action
- Provide balanced feedback on the work

Tip: They'll follow a plan they write. Give them the pen.
Read 8 tweets
Nov 15
Your boss is a coward and it's killing your career.

Here's the honest feedback you need to hear:
1. Negotiating is Non-Negotiable

You are not paid the maximum you're worth.

You are paid the minimum you'll accept.
2. You own your work-life balance.

If you outsource setting boundaries to the person assigning you work, don't be surprised when you end up with too much.
Read 13 tweets
Nov 14
When interviewing for a new role, grill the hiring manager on what excellence looks like.

If they can’t paint a vivid picture of what it takes to win, run as fast as you can.

Here are some examples:
"What is this team's North Star metric?"

For Airbnb, this is "Nights Booked."

It's an easy to understand number that lets everyone ask, "Will this work I'm doing help or hurt?"

It's remarkably powerful for building autonomy. And incredibly hard to navigate without one.
"What is the most important problem to solve right now?"

- Is it immediate and tangible?
- Or distant & poorly defined?
- Or unrealistic laundry list?

Business physics tells us there's always a single bottleneck. Impactful leaders pick the right problems.
Read 8 tweets
Nov 11
Without trust, your team is doomed to fail.

Here's my 2 minute trick to build it fast: Image
Teams reach peak performance when:

- They set high standards
- Commit to their work
- Deliver consistently
- Trust each other

And building trust on a team is simple:
Do what you say you're going to do.

Don't want to leave this chance?
Have your team "Call Their Shots."
1️⃣ Write them down.

Have each person draft a note to the team with the 3-5 most important things they'll deliver.

Notice my language: Deliver.

I'm not looking for activity tracking; I want my team to drive work to reliable impact.
Read 7 tweets
Nov 3
10 Lessons From The Winningest NFL Coaches

(I was shocked by who missed the cut) Image
Dan Reeves, Broncos, Giants and Falcons (190 wins) Image
Check Noll, Pittsburgh Steelers (193 wins) Image
Read 13 tweets
Oct 31
In my decade working at Bridgewater, I constantly found myself giving the same advice.

"If you want to succeed, stop trying so hard."

Most were blind to a counterintuitive truth,

They had the right effort but the wrong elevation.

Here's how to adjust: Quote from Dave Kline, "You're not rewarded for hard work. You're rewarded for being hard to replace."
Like top athletes who enter slumps, the challenge occurs when they tense up and lose the fluidity that makes them succeed. They "squeeze the bat" too tightly, altering their swing. With every miss, the tension grows.
These executives were in a similar situation. They were making an outsized effort, but effort wasn't the problem. And so they spiraled.

To help them regain their mojo, we focused on one question:

"Am I climbing the right hill?"
Read 6 tweets

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