Managing Up
Managing Up and Speaking to Leadership
Tailor your message and management objectives toward the unique need of each member of your C-Suite.
The CEO (Chief Executive Officer) has a huge responsibility on their shoulders and lots of employees needing their time. Keep it brief, highlight what is running well, and things being accomplished. But also bring up any red flags or issues they should keep on their radar.
The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) is responsible to be a good steward of the company finances, and show growth and return on investments (ROI). Give them various tools, for visibility into the most important metrics of the business. Show them how investments are bringing value. Look at ways to streamline and reduce costs.
The CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) provides vision around the company’s Go To Market (GTM). They must inspire, encourage, and coach their Sales Team. They need access to the latest and greatest tools, that allow them to engage with clients and move where the market is seeing increased demand. To do that they must be agile and fast; therefore, so must your technology stack, as you enable their function. Help propel their vision.
The CPO (Chief People Officer) oversees company HR (Human Resources). While I sometimes think it would be fun to encourage employee growth and career development. They also have the difficult job of enforcing company policies, navigating legal land mines, and having hard conversations with employees and managers. Work closely with them on tools that manage everything related to personnel, hiring, benefits, access, and equipment. Coordinate with them to develop ways to smoothly onboard, change roles, and off board employees throughout the employee lifecycle with your company. As you manage identities, you can automate things like employee org charts, and help with employee portals, and employee newsletters.
The CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) is behind the scenes fighting a huge battle to keep your organization safe. The level of sophistication and volume of threats over the last few years is unlike anything I’ve seen in all the prior years of my career. Give them lots of encouragement and appreciation. They probably feel like quitting on a weekly basis. What they do is extraordinarily difficult and complex. Support them by advocating to other company leadership the need to invest in security tools, managed services, and the staff they need to visualize and mitigate risk, as they protect the organization, vendors, clients, and employees.
The CDO/CPO (Chief Data / Privacy Officer) has to oversee where data lives and its sensitivity levels so it can be properly protected. This is mostly around client data, so coordinating closely with marketing and sales is essential. When working with them, it is important to maximize all the privacy tools available in your CRM (Customer Relationship Management tool). Then also establish your DSR (Data Subject Request) processes and procedures, as well as Data Loss Prevention. Since this role is more public facing, you should also monitor for spoofing and impersonation around their identity and email.
The COO (Chief Operations Officer) is not a role that every company has, but they work closely with the CEO, and oversee finances and business processes. They tend to be heavily involved in the tactical and operational parts of the business. Because this role can take various forms, be adaptable and supportive. They are often the unseen heroes and glue that helps everything stick together.
Harvard Business Review - COO Article…
The CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and CIO can often be confused and some companies may only have one or the other. But in larger companies, where there are both, the CTO generally focuses outward on external products, development teams, customers, increasing revenue, and driving innovation. As such, they are often aligned closely to Sales and Rev Ops. Speak to them in terms of innovation, vision, and growth.
The CIO (Chief Information Officer) and CTO can also be confused with some companies only having one or the other. But in larger companies where there are both, the CIO generally focuses inward on employees, internal processes, IT operations and infrastructure, increasing profitability, efficiency, and productivity. They can provide a source of stability during periods of fast company growth. As such, they are often aligned closely with Human Resources and Finance and Accounting. Speak to them in terms of cost savings, simplifying, and keeping employees, processes, and operations running smoothly.
