Advice
Managing Up: The Career Skill They Never Taught You (But Should Have)
The biggest mistake I see ambitious professionals make isn't working too hard or not having enough qualifications. It's assuming their boss automatically knows what they're doing well.
After seventeen years in corporate consulting and watching countless talented people get overlooked for promotions they deserved, I've become somewhat evangelical about one particular skill: managing up. Not brown-nosing. Not office politics. Managing up.
What Managing Up Actually Means
Managing up is about actively managing your relationship with your boss to create better outcomes for everyone involved. It's treating your manager like a human being with their own pressures, blind spots, and communication preferences rather than some mystical figure who should magically understand your worth.
Most people think managing up means being a yes-person or constantly praising their supervisor. Wrong. Dead wrong.
The best "managing up" I ever witnessed was Sarah, a project coordinator in Brisbane who regularly challenged her director's timeline assumptions. She'd present alternative scenarios, backed with data, showing why certain deadlines were unrealistic. Instead of getting fired, she became indispensable. Why? Because she made her boss look good to his boss.
That's the secret sauce. Managing up isn't about making yourself look good – it's about making your boss more successful while advancing your own career.
The Communication Piece Everyone Gets Wrong
Here's where most people stuff it up royally. They communicate with their boss the way they prefer to communicate, not how their boss prefers to receive information.
I learned this lesson the hard way fifteen years ago. My manager was a visual processor who needed to see things written down, but I kept trying to explain complex project updates verbally in hallway conversations. For months, I thought he wasn't listening to me. Turns out, he simply couldn't process information that way.
Some managers want bullet points. Others need context and background. Some prefer scheduled updates, others want real-time notifications. Figure out your boss's communication style and adapt to it.
This isn't about changing who you are – it's about being smart enough to package your ideas in a way that gets heard.
The Feedback Loop Most People Avoid
Regular feedback conversations terrify most employees. They wait for annual reviews and hope for the best. This is career suicide in today's workplace.
I recommend monthly 15-minute conversations focused on one simple question: "What's one thing I could do differently to be more effective in my role?"
Notice I didn't say "How am I performing?" That question puts people on the defensive. The first question shows you're growth-oriented and genuinely interested in improvement.
During these conversations, also share what support you need to be successful. Maybe you need clearer priorities, additional resources, or removal of roadblocks. Your boss can't read your mind, and they're probably dealing with seventeen other urgent matters.
Understanding Your Boss's World
This might sound obvious, but spend time understanding what keeps your manager awake at night. What are their key performance indicators? What initiatives is their boss pushing? What industry pressures are affecting your department?
When you understand these bigger picture elements, you can position your work and requests in context. Instead of asking for professional development funding because "it would be good for my career," frame it around how those new skills will help solve a specific business challenge your boss is facing.
For developing stronger leadership skills for supervisors, understanding these broader pressures becomes even more critical as you advance in your career.
The Documentation Strategy
Here's something I wish someone had told me earlier: document your wins. Not for performance review time – for right now.
Keep a running list of your achievements, problems you've solved, and value you've added. Share highlights with your boss regularly, not in a boastful way, but as straightforward updates on project progress and outcomes.
Most managers are juggling too many priorities to remember every good thing their team members accomplish. By regularly sharing your wins, you're making their job easier when they need to advocate for you in budget meetings or promotion discussions.
When Managing Up Goes Wrong
I've seen people take managing up too far and become insufferable. There's Michelle from my previous company who scheduled daily check-ins with her manager and CC'd him on every email. That's not managing up – that's micromanaging your boss, and it's annoying as hell.
There's also the opposite extreme: people who interpret "managing up" as never disagreeing with their supervisor. This creates a yes-person dynamic that helps nobody. Good managers want team members who can think critically and offer different perspectives.
The sweet spot is somewhere between these extremes. Be proactive in communication, anticipate your boss's needs, but maintain your professional integrity and independent thinking.
The Timing Element
Timing is everything in managing up. Learn your boss's rhythms. Are they more receptive to new ideas on Monday mornings or Thursday afternoons? Do they prefer difficult conversations before lunch or at the end of the day?
I once worked with a director who was absolutely useless before 10 AM and brilliant after 2 PM. Scheduling important discussions during his morning fog was a waste of everyone's time.
Also, read the room. If your boss just came out of a tense budget meeting, it's probably not the ideal moment to pitch your innovative but expensive project idea.
Building Trust Through Reliability
Trust forms the foundation of any successful managing up relationship. This means doing what you say you'll do, when you said you'd do it. It means raising problems early rather than hoping they'll resolve themselves. It means admitting when you don't know something instead of bluffing your way through.
I've noticed that reliability trumps brilliance almost every time. Managers would rather work with someone competent and dependable than someone brilliant but unpredictable.
This reliability extends to emotional consistency too. You don't have to be happy all the time, but your boss should generally know what to expect from your demeanor and communication style.
The Career Advancement Connection
Here's the thing about managing up that makes it so powerful for career advancement: it demonstrates executive-level thinking. When you consistently show that you understand business priorities, can anticipate needs, and communicate effectively with senior stakeholders, you're essentially auditioning for more senior roles.
Strong employee supervision skills often develop naturally when you've mastered managing up, because you understand the challenges of leadership from multiple perspectives.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't overdo it. Some people discover managing up and turn into eager puppies, constantly seeking approval and validation. This becomes exhausting for everyone involved.
Don't assume your boss wants to be your friend. Professional relationships are different from personal ones. Maintain appropriate boundaries while being warm and collaborative.
Don't take everything personally. Sometimes your boss will be stressed, distracted, or dealing with pressures you're not aware of. Their mood isn't always about you or your performance.
Making It Sustainable
Managing up shouldn't feel like an exhausting performance. When done well, it becomes a natural part of how you approach work relationships. You're not changing your personality – you're developing professional skills that serve you throughout your career.
The goal is creating a working relationship where both you and your boss can be successful. When that happens, career advancement often follows naturally.
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