Harry recently wrote a piece for the SmartBlog on Leadership website:

“Without question, what happens at the top — priorities established, strategies set or changed — cascades throughout the entire organization. How can it be true, then, that anyone at any level can be a leader? The answer is by “leading up” (or “managing up”), a key part of values-based leadership that allows people to positively influence their boss or even the boss’ boss.

Leading up is especially important when companies are undergoing periods of dramatic or rapid change. During these times, feedback from across the team is crucial. Let’s look at a couple of examples from the headlines.

Animation studio DreamWorks has put in place a restructuring after spreading itself too thin over multiple platforms. Before the restructuring, CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly told investors, DreamWorks endured a “painful” period. Based on interviews with current and former employees, The Wall Street Journal reported that “workers of all ranks grew to have little faith in creative decisions, watching as fast changes forced expensive rewrites and schedule changes kept production budgets fluctuating.”  You have to wonder: Could that painful period have been shortened or made less excruciating if more people had “led up” to influence strategic direction?”

Read the full article here.