Managing Up Is Easy When You Keep One Eye on the Dinner Rolls
I was just on the phone with a friend who had me laughing OUT LOUD as she recanted some “good old times” that I seem to be reliving in my “good current times.” The just of the conversation was about how an old dog never learns new tricks.
Now off the phone and still laughing to myself as I make my lunch, I’m thinking about how the notion of “managing up” (usually used in the business sense) could be applied to other relationships. And then I remembered watching my seven year old niece on Christmas day… she was paying close attention to those of us cooking; she jumped in when help was needed, kept us updated on the oven timer as it counted down closer and closer to zero; and she even offered to help take out the trash. Then, as the dinner rolls came out of the oven, I realized why she had been “managing up” all of her aunts who were cooking in the kitchen. She played the odds that one of us would let her have a hot flaky roll right out of the oven because she had been so valuable in helping us. She devoured that first roll (of four that I counted) with holiday joy that you only see in a child’s eye.
I think it’s time to ask the great Google for current day results on “managing up”.
