Last month, we promised to share some leadership ideas and examples when working with upline managers. Here are two very effective options to consider.

Echoing last month's question: As much as we all know we are ultimately bigger than the circumstances in our life, what happens if the "challenging circumstance" happens to be our boss? The one who signs our paycheck, conducts our performance review, and frankly, holds our future (and our family's future) in their hands? What do we do then? We have all seen the uselessness of maintaining a "victim mentality." That attitude never moves anything forward. Quitting the job may be the answer, but before going to that extreme, here are two very effective options to consider:

Be the 'quiet agent for change' - through interactions with others, demonstrate the ability to take the high-road, quietly modeling that the only shoes you walk in are your own. Demonstrate your ability to effectively manage your emotions and set a standard for others to follow. Model leadership - regardless of your position, contribute in a fashion that demonstrates a strength, control and ability to influence in a manner that moves people and issues forward.

Another tool that can be used in upward leadership is the watching for and commenting on your upline manager's actions in Degrees of Strength. What do we mean by Degrees of Strength? There are basically two ways to measure someone's actions depending on your point of view - your measurement scale.

Let's say you feel that your boss never listens to you. That is your preconception, based on many of your experiences. If you wanted to rate listening skills, the only way that rating could be "0" is if your boss was both blind and deaf. And so, you must concede that your boss does have some listening skills. Is this an area your boss could grow in? Is this an area where you could grow?

How can you support that growth? Not by focusing on every time s/he (or you) didn't listen well. Not by saying "Why don't you ever listen to me?" But by finding those times when the boss does listen well, and then thanking them for it. "Boy, Fred, thanks for taking the time to hear me out. It really makes me want to rededicate myself to this effort."

Simply put, this is positive reinforcement - and it works. It works on others, and it works on ourselves. You can be your own best leader!

True leaders, no matter their title, measure those around them not by what that other person lacks, but by what they have and their potential; not by where they are failing, but by where they are achieving. A key to accomplishing this is noticing progress in even the smallest degree. When an individual can find and focus on even the smallest advances, they move through life unfettered by the individuals and circumstances around them. These leaders are well on their way to living a career with limitless possibilities.

There's a common denominator in the strategies above: each one is proactive in building relationships - high-road relationships. People want to be around those who lift them, who inspire them, who lead them. And that includes our boss. As one participant recently added, "In the end, if we operate with a belief that our boss is a jerk…who is really the jerk?"

Who will you lead today?