Our communications with our supervisors may be routine or out-of-the-ordinary. They may be about organizational policies and practices, about what needs to be done and how it could be done, about others and their problems, or about ourselves. Our communications upward are most effective when they demonstrate our awareness of the organization’s needs, as well as our own abilities to think strategically and generate solutions to problems.

However, workplace pressures, including insufficient time and pressing deadlines, may lead us to dash off a quick email that may not highlight the insights we meant to offer. In this Link & Learn, we’ll consider the value of stopping ourselves for a moment before sending that email and taking a few moments to plan upward communication that is more strategic and effective in earning our boss’ trust, approval and advocacy for our ideas.