Managing Up: How to Manage Your Boss

There are many leadership skills that you will find in leadership development programs---and they are all valuable---but the unspoken leadership skill that will enable you to sell your ideas and move position to position in the organization is “managing up.” If you walk into your boss’ office and are not greeted with a smile and shining eyes, you know that you need more development in the area of managing up. Nancy Ahlrichs included the concept of “managing up” in her book, “Manager of Choice.” Today, she will go more in depth and share her research on basic boss management and advanced boss management---two techniques that you can put to use immediately.

Currently, Nancy is serving as Strategic Account Manager for FlashPoint. Prior to FlashPoint. Nancy served as Vice President of Talent Management and Diversity at United Way of Central Indiana where she led the organization to win “Best Places to Work 2011 and 2012,” as well as the “2010 Crowning Achievement in Diversity” award. Before joining United Way, she had her own consulting firm,  EOC Strategies, LLC, an Indianapolis-based human resource consulting firm focused on generational management, developing an award winning culture of high performance, and using “employer of choice” strategies to build the bottom line. Earlier, she was Director of Organizational Evolution and Director of Marketing and Public Relations for ONEX, Inc., and more.

Nancy S. Ahlrichs, SPHR, CDE, Strategic Account Manager

Nancy has spoken to nearly 600 audiences of CEO’s, senior HR professionals and more. She is a prolific writer and published author and her works have appeared in local and national print and online business and technical journals. She is the author of Igniting Gen B and Gen V: The New Rules of Engagement for Boomers, Veterans and Other Long-term Employees; Manager of Choice: 5 Competencies for Cultivating Top Talent; and Competing for Talent: Key Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Becoming an Employer of Choice. She is also a contributing author for On Staffing.

Nancy has a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in anthropology, both from Purdue University. She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and is a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE). Nancy is a board member of the Indiana Blood Center as well as the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University. She is a past board member of the Society for Diversity, and a member of the Human Resource Professional Development Association (HRPDA), IndySHRM, the Downtown Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis, the Organization Development (OD) Network, and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

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