Pushing Down or Lifting Up - MAC091

Throughout our careers, we observe others around us getting ahead by various means.  Some people do so by putting other people down in order to make themselves look better whereas others do so by lifting those around them up.  You may have even used these techniques yourself.  The secret?  Both approaches can work, but only one is sustainable for the long term.  Let's take a look at the longer term impact of each.

 

 

Whether intentionally or not, some people will try to advance their careers by pushing those around them down.  These people will steal credit from other.  They will undermine the success of those around them.  And they will secretly work to cause a rift in the team in order to distract others from their actions.

 

If the organization is driven by visibility, someone trying to look superior will take credit for the work that their team does or reframe what was done in such a way that they steal credit for things that they had minimal impact on.

 

If they are not confident in the quality of their work, they may spread gossip in order to cause stronger team members to be viewed as incompetent or even to be excluded from key efforts.  Beyond rumors, they may "forget" to include them in important decisions or purposefully withhold or delay support in order for their targets to struggle or fail.

 

People who operate in this mode are operating from a position of fear -- fear for their job, fear for being found to be "less than", or just fear that there are limited opportunities for success and that they will be left behind.

 

Sadly, this can be an effective strategy……at least in the short term.  If someone can implement their plan before others catch on, they can achieve the promotion they desire.  But, eventually that catches up to them.  Their team will stop supporting them and their leaders will eventually see the pattern.  That early success eventually stalls out.

 

If you find yourself to be a target of someone who is trying to get ahead by pushing you down, how should you react?

 

Start by proactively reporting your status to your leaders.  If the person putting you down IS your leader, then report your status to project sponsors and your skip level leader.  Review Episode 044 (https://www.managingacareer.com/44) for more information on reporting status.

 

Next, build relationships with those that will ultimately be deciding who advances.  If you build a relationship with your skip level leader as well as cross-functional teams, it will be harder for someone to misrepresent your work because they will have first-hand knowledge of what you bring to the team.  Additionally, grow your network as covered in Episode 029 (https://www.managingacareer.com/29) and build a cheering section as covered in Episode 052 (https://www.managingacareer.com/52).  The more people you have on your side, the harder it is for someone to attack you.

 

It may be tempting to try to "fight fire with fire", but by stooping to their level, you run the risk of being the one viewed as being the problem, just strengthening their approach.  Instead, turn their actions against them.  When they steal credit that you deserve, remember, they are only stealing credit that they see as valuable.  Leverage that by following up with your leaders to add additional context and provide evidence of your bigger role in the work.  Doing so in a matter-of-fact manner will show them that you bring more value to the team.

 

 

The other approach is to lift those around you up.  Where the first strategy is about stealing credit, when you lift people up, you freely give credit where it is due…..and sometimes even give credit away.  When those around you are struggling, you offer to mentor them.  You offer support for good ideas, even when they aren't your own.

 

The driver for this approach is not fear, but in being strategically generous.  Lifting others up builds trust and leads to a reputation of being someone who makes a team better.  Additionally, you build allies and advocates.  This investment in people will pay off in the future when those that you've supported gain positions of authority and power.  And when your position advances, they'll follow you willingly.

 

Lifting others up is a much slower play, but it is much more sustainable in the long run.  Each person you lift up becomes an advocate for you when it's your turn.  And over time, this can lead to more and more supporters.  As a side benefit, these same people that are helping you advance will also provide a level of protection from those that look to push you down.

 

If you find that someone else is lifting you up, first, accept it and then reflect it back to them.  When they bring attention to your work, offer a response along the lines of "Thank you!  A big reason that I was able to be successful on this project was because of all that I've learned working with [Joe]".  This not only helps your visibility based on the credit, it will also strengthen your alliance with the person who is sharing the spotlight.

 

 

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My goal for this podcast is to continue to grow the audience in order to help as many people as I can advance their careers.  To reach this goal, I would appreciate it if you would share this episode with your friends and coworkers.  Send them to ManagingACareer.com/follow (https://www.managingacareer.com/follow) which will give them links to everywhere that this podcast can be found.