What is managing up?

So many times we hear terms being thrown around and sometimes we are embarrassed to say we don’t know what they mean, so we nod along and pretend until we can discreetly google it. If the term managing up was one of those for you, let me help out. The way I think of managing up is creating a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with your manager that helps you both meet your and the company’s overall goals.

I know many folks define as what is done to manage a ‘bad’ boss. I don’t. I think of it as a skill that you use to ensure that you and your manager are in sync with each other. There is a lot on the interwebs about managing up to bad managers where you go around them to get an audience for your ideas, or you manage up to try to change them. That, my friend, is not the true essence of managing up. If you are in a situation like that you probably need some 1:1 coaching to find solutions tailored to your context and personality.

So what is managing up?

Whenever you accept a new role, there are two things you always want to be clear about, (1) what are your manager’s goals, and (2) what are their manager’s goals. Ideally both of those people’s goals align to the company goals and gives you a road map for what you need to prioritize. The other things you want to identify relatively quickly, are how they communicate best, what their work style is, and what information and resources do you have that they will need and when they will need them.

Let me give you an example. As a manager, I am an in the moment communicator, if you do something well, I tell you in the moment. If you make a mistake, I tell you in the moment. So what do I appreciate from my team members? You guessed it, in the moment feedback. I don’t want to walk away from a meeting thinking we are all on the same page only to find out weeks later that there was confusion. Of course it is my responsibility to make the environment one where feedback is both expected and accepted, but one way my team manages up to me is by telling me in the moment when I have it wrong.

Another way to manage up is to predict your manager’s needs. I use this to support my manager routinely. When I know she has an upcoming meeting for which my team has the data or content knowledge, I ask her what she will need and get it to her in a digestible format that she can turnkey. To be honest, sometimes I don’t wait, I anticipate her need and provide before she can ask. This helps us to have an authentic and positive relationship where she can give me the support and feedback I need and I can do the same for her.

How do I manage up

There are several ways to manage up.

• This is an easy one. Proactively share your progress on projects. Notify them early if there is a challenge or if you need their thought partnership or advocacy to resolve the challenge. The worst thing you can do is hide the challenge and then miss the deadline or have them find out in some other way that the challenge exists.
• Help them upskill in your area of expertise if time permits. This ensures that you are not the only one on the team with the knowledge, protects your time off when you are away, and minimizes your inbox when you return.
• Be thoughtful. If your manager is over-whelmed and you can, and have the time in your schedule to help lighten the load, make the offer. Managers are human too. They get sick, have personal challenges, and sometimes feel overwhelmed. However, if you are making the offer, be sincere don’t use it as a bargaining chip for a later ask.
• Be aware of potential hurdles. Let’s face it, you probably hear more through the grape vine than your manager knows. So if for example you know that there is a board meeting coming up and your manager has to present, maybe you can manage up by helping them to protect their time to prepare, ensuring that the deliverables they need from you are submitted on time, or by making sure you make your big asks after the board meeting not on the day of.
• I have already mentioned noting how they prefer to interact. E.g. I do not like emails that are longer than 5 sentences. I would prefer to have a conversation so that I can get my questions answered. Knowing how your manager prefers to receive information is key to establishing strong communication norms.

The above is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is a start. Here are some important things to consider about your manager to help you improve your ability to manage up.

• What are their priorities? It’s generally easy to tell, they usually talk about these a lot even if they don’t explicitly say “These are my priorities.” Become a good listener, listen for what they are passionate about.
• What do they have on their plate? Are they a care giver? Dealing with a chronic illness? Working on a degree or certification? How do they need to divide up their time and is there a time of day when they need to be uninterrupted?
• What is their work style? Do they prefer to work silent and solo on a draft and then elicit feedback? Or do they prefer to brainstorm and then work on the finished product? Or do they prefer to divide the work and take their portion from conception to implementation, and want the same from you?
• How do they handle conflict? Do they prefer to deal with challenges head on, or avoid, or circumnavigate?
• How do they respond to feedback? When do they invest in it? When do they reject it.

Assess what is similar, and what is different about your work style and then make decisions about how and where you want to manage up. Remember the point of this is to create a mutually beneficial working relationship with your manager.

So why should I manage up?

Simply put, it’s all about fostering a positive relationship with your manager. Remember, we are all human first, so it’s only natural that understanding how each of us operates best can be advantageous in the workplace. When done effectively, managing up not only makes your manager’s job easier, but also yours. Recognizing the most effective way to communicate with your boss, showing genuine care, achieving performance goals, and more are all actions that will be highly appreciated. My mom used to always say, “The people you meet on the way up, are the people you meet on the way down.” What that basically means is you should treat people well cause you never know when you will encounter them again, managers included.

So there you have it. Happy managing up. If you found this article helpful, please share it in the comments. If you would like to get more tips, subscribe to this blog and follow us on LinkedIn, and if you have question feel free to send us an email.