“I really need your help with this work..”: A System for Navigating the Tricky Terrain of Managing Up by Leveraging One’s Motivation to Get Things Done

Abstract

When people need help from their supervisors or peers, they often have to manage up to get things done. However, unlike managing subordinates (managing down), managing people of equal or higher status (managing up) are not obligated to help. These requests often involve collaborative tasks between requesters and performers. Through interviews, we found that these collaborative tasks require coordination that is not materialized in existing management tools. We also found that requesters are willing to take on this coordination to see their requests fulfilled. We propose a system called TaskLight, which allows requesters to handle coordination work themselves. For example, requesters can collect useful context and information for their performers. We conducted two deployment studies and found that TaskLight leads to better outcomes because requesters are able to assist performers more effectively. Our findings demonstrate a new way to reduce the social burdens of managing up and improve collaboration.