The Life-Changing Magic of Managing Up: Strategy # 3: Send Status Reports
Welcome back! I am delighted to introduce you to our third strategy in the Life-Changing Magic of Managing Up: sending status reports. Now, you might be thinking, “But last week, we talked about closing loops and communicating, so theoretically, if I’ve closed every loop, what is there for me to report on?” And, if you were a perfect human being, then I might say, “You’re right- nothing further here, blog over.” However, I understand that in the real world, despite your best efforts, there will probably be a few things that slip through the cracks. Speaking from personal experience, no matter how diligently I try to keep my clients up-to-date each week, come Friday, I ALWAYS find something I forgot to say or update or complete. An earlier version of me would beat myself up for this relentlessly, but after surviving this pandemic for the past nearly two years, I’ve learned that I’m no worse than anyone else when it comes to this. So, if I can give other people a break (or at the very least some understanding), I ought to be able to find some grace for myself as well, right?
Rather than beating myself up, I’ve found that the best way to ensure that I’ve closed the loops I’ve committed to (and for that matter, responded to everything that needs responding) is to take an inventory at the end of the week and send it to my manager. This helps me make sure I’ve done everything I needed to, communicated updates for everything not yet done, and it is also a chance for me to double-check my work and ensure that my boss has everything they need.
So, how do you do that? Like so many things in management, the answer is, “It depends.” One of the most important things to keep in mind for status reports is your audience- do you work for a leadership team that wants a lot of details, or do you work for someone who wants just the bullet points? Knowing this is critical to making sure your report is helpful, useful and readable (although, remember, there are no guarantees on that count. Managers are busy, but we don’t use the fact that they may not read our email as an excuse for not communicating).
Regardless of whether you are writing one page or ten, I would recommend ensuring that each status report you send includes three key pieces of information: what you’ve done, what your current status is, and where you’re going next.
Keep in mind that the style of report is entirely up to you. I’ve seen status reports as Word documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoint slides, and emails with a list of bullet points. No matter the format, the one thing they all share is that they cover each of the three major content areas.
What You’ve Done
It’s important to let your manager know what you’ve done in the last reporting period. My recommendation is to send a report at least weekly, or once every two weeks. You might think that waiting a month would be good, as you’d have a ton of things to list in your “work completed” section, but I caution you against that. Managers have a hard enough time tracking what people are working on, and if you only send an update once a month, it’s likely that they will forget details about your work (which could be problematic, especially if they are looking for candidates for new projects or work assignments). Sending your updates more frequently will keep your work in the forefront of their mind, and it will also mean that your report will be shorter in length, which is always good for busy managers.
Your Current Status
Think of this part of your report as the answer to the question, “How are you doing right now?” You could make this update as simple as a red, yellow or green dot to indicate your overall status. Or, you could provide an update here on the work you’re doing that is not yet complete. Remember, anything you’ve finished goes in the “Work Completed” section, so keep this part focused on what is not yet complete and what you are spending your time on.
Where You’re Going
This part of your report is a roadmap for the future. Not your whole future- limit it to the next reporting period, or the next month ahead. Too much shorter than that, and it won’t look like you are being proactive. Too much longer than that, and things are sure to change before whatever you are forecasting happens. The point here is to show your manager that you are thinking ahead, giving them a heads-up of any potential risks that you see, and that you’re already thinking about solutions to future problems (yay!).
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Ultimately, the secret sauce of strategy number 3 is that it gets you sending proactive updates to your manager, and serves as a double-check that strategies #1 and #2 are being done well. I encourage you to work with leaders at your own organizations to develop a report that meets their needs, but if you would like a template to start from, please feel free to download a free sample status report template from Projects By Molly, LLC!
Free status report template!
Strategy #3 Challenge:
Your challenge this week is to send a status report! Use the free version linked above, or design your own masterpiece. Make sure you confirm ahead of time what level of detail your leaders prefer, then send it to your boss and see what happens… (And leave me a a comment so I know how it goes!)