The End of Revolving-Door Leadership

2. Manage up to avoid “we/they” divisiveness.

What is managing up? Basically, it’s positioning people, products and organizations in a positive light. Most leaders inadvertently practice what we call the “we/they” phenomenon — as in “Well, Rick, I fought for your pay raise but you know Human Resources makes those decisions” — which has a divisive effect on company culture. This is rarely a deliberate choice but rather the natural fallback position of someone who hasn’t had formal leadership training. (After all, you don’t want Rick to be mad at you, right?) To counteract “we/they,” learn the fine art of managing up.