How to manage up and real-world examples of what it looks like

Managing up is a key skill that serves leaders and direct reports at all levels.

Showing initiative and leadership skills are necessary if you’re aiming to quickly advance up the corporate ladder. This is particularly true when you’re aiming to secure a management position.

But how do you strike the right balance?

You need to show your boss that you can take charge. However, you also want to be a team player. You want to be independent but also keep them informed.

You want to show that you have confidence and ideas. But you don’t want to seem like you’re talking down, overstepping, or being insubordinate.

Navigating this balance means managing up. Let’s discuss what it is, how to manage up effectively, and the benefits of doing so.

What is managing up?

Key strategies for managing up include:

• Understanding your boss’s priorities: Knowing what is important to your boss and aligning your work to support these priorities.
• Upward communication: Keeping your manager informed about your progress, challenges, and successes. This includes providing updates, seeking feedback, and clarifying expectations.
• Proactivity: Anticipating your manager’s needs and potential issues before they arise, and taking initiative to address them.
• Building trust: Being reliable, consistent, and honest to build a strong working relationship based on trust.
• Adapting to their style: Recognizing and adapting to your manager's work style and communication preferences to work more effectively together.
• Offering solutions, not just problems: When presenting a problem, also suggest potential solutions to demonstrate critical thinking and initiative.
• Being a resource: Positioning yourself as a valuable resource for your boss by developing expertise, offering insights, and contributing to team success.

Managing up is about creating a positive and productive relationship with your boss, which can lead to a more satisfying work experience and greater professional growth.

What managing up is not:

Managing up covers many activities. But some actions are not only not managing up but should be avoided.

• Complaining: Bringing up problems without offering any potential solutions or alternatives.
• Ignoring your boss's priorities: Focusing solely on your own tasks and goals without considering what your manager deems important.
• Withholding information: Failing to communicate important updates or challenges in your work, leaving your manager uninformed and unprepared.
• Being reactive instead of proactive: Waiting for your manager to tell you what to do next rather than anticipating needs and taking initiative.

Examples of managing up in the workplace

Now you know what managing up is, let’s look at some ways you might exercise it in the workplace.

Here are five real-world examples of managing up:

Preparing for a meeting

Before a scheduled meeting, you compile all necessary reports, data, and background information. You then share them with your manager to ensure they are well-prepared and can make informed decisions.

Proposing solutions

When identifying a recurring issue in the workflow, you not only bring it to your manager's attention but also suggest several viable solutions to address the problem.

Aligning with organizational goals

You learn about your manager's key objectives for the quarter and prioritize your tasks to support these goals, regularly updating your manager on your progress and how it aligns with their objectives.

Adapting communication style

If your manager prefers concise emails over long reports, you adjust your communication style accordingly to ensure they receive the information in their preferred format, making it easier for them to process and act on it.

Offering to take on extra work

When you notice your manager is overwhelmed with tasks, you proactively offer to take on additional responsibilities that align with your skills, helping to lighten their load and demonstrating your reliability.

The benefits of managing up in the workplace

Why manage up? There are direct benefits related to performance reviews, promotions, and opportunities. There are also indirect ones related to team performance, keeping projects properly resourced and on schedule, better working relationships, and reduced stress.

For many employees, your personal performance reviews and ratings determine the following: 

• Your rate of progress 
• Whether you achieve an increase in salary or not
• Your measurement of value to the organization 

An important contributor to that rating is your boss or supervisor. 

Inevitably, managing up contributes to strong performance reviews, receiving a promotion, and a win-win for you and your boss. And so, learning to master managing up means that your own progression is that much more attainable.

The second benefit comes from making yourself into your boss’s right-hand person (used in the generic sense). Few people are indispensable these days. 

If you can build the reputation of being your boss’s go-to, your boss is more likely to have your back or bring you with them to the next big opportunity.

Finally, many female employees are taught to let their work speak for itself. Yet part of the managing up process is to let your boss know where you've been successful and what you've been managing. 

Being clear about where you've made a contribution and demonstrated your effectiveness makes your boss look good. 

This isn't about being boastful, but rather about ensuring that your boss knows who you are and the value you are delivering, to them and the organization.

How to get to know your boss to manage up

Most employees feel somewhat intimidated by the idea of managing up, particularly with a senior or difficult boss. This is the time to put on your investigative or research hat and get curious about the world from their perspective.

It sounds cliché, but the foundational question of “What’s in it for them?” will serve you well in this relationship, too. Putting yourself in the boss’s shoes and viewing the world a little from their perspective can begin to answer critical questions.

Questions to ask yourself (or your manager) include: 

• What is top-of-mind right now?
• How is their performance measured — what targets need to be met this quarter?
• What would make their lives easier?
• What keeps them awake at night?
• How would they like to be supported?
• What's their definition of success?
• What do they consider urgent versus non-urgent?
• If you have any feedback, how would they prefer to receive it? In-person, an email or text, over the phone, or during a video call?

One of the key insights to some of these questions might be the company’s strengths profile if you’re lucky enough to have one. 

Whether it’s Gallup’s Strengths Finder or the Enneagram, see if your boss will share key insights about their working style and preferences. This will go a long way to explaining their behaviors and giving you an idea of their preferences.

You don’t have to love your boss to get along effectively. Reaching out can be tricky. But try asking a couple of rapport-building questions, such as those mentioned above. It will go a long way to building a relationship with them.

How to manage up at work: 8 tips

1. Know what's important to your boss and what their goals are

This is the first and probably most important tip which we detailed above. Ultimately it's your job to support your boss’s success and to make them look like a rock star.

2. Ask questions

Timing is critical, so look for a gap when they aren't particularly hurried or stressed.

Questions you can ask to help you manage up include:

• What's their workday like? 
• What are they worried about? 
• What's overwhelming them right now? 
• What could they use help with?
• How do your goals support theirs?
• What else can I help with?

Try to use your one-on-ones or feedback slot to pose these questions.

3. Develop empathy as a leadership skill

It may be difficult to imagine feeling empathy for your boss, but like everyone else, they're simply human. We may not pretend to understand our boss or to know why they make the choices they do. 

We can try to view the world from their shoes and empathize with the stress and constraints they face. A simple reflection of, “I can imagine today must be a very stressful day,” can go a long way to building a sense of rapport.

4. Give early warning of potential problems

None of us likes to be the bearer of bad tidings, and the last thing you want to do is go running to the boss at the first sign of trouble. But the average boss wants due warning that trouble is brewing. No one likes these kinds of surprises. 

A recent coaching client knew that the deal she was working on was simply going to miss the deadline. She wasn't the most senior on the team, nor was her direct boss the lead on the deal. 

Her early heads-up to him allowed intervention at a critical point, and she was able to give a full debrief after the trouble was over. At the moment of urgently needing to communicate bad news, keep it short and factual, assigning as little blame as possible.

5. Anticipate their likely response

Having observed your boss in action for a period of time, you know how they'll respond. If you have the explosive type, anticipate the inevitable eruption. 

Remember that they're likely reacting to the situation rather than to you personally. 

Provide the time and space to cool off and have your next steps ready as to how you are going to assist in containing the situation. Alternatively, if your boss is one who needs time to think things over, provide that space before volunteering possible solutions. 

6. Keep a paper trail

In the flurry of virtual communication these days, actions can get lost in translation. 

Note everything that you are communicating with your boss by phone or on Zoom/Teams in a succinct email summary or project note. Email communication allows your boss the option to respond hours later when they have the gap rather than when you drafted your request. 

7. Know when your boss is most responsive

Know when your boss’s prime time is. If they're an early bird and at their desk early, then chances are they’re best able to respond to issues earlier in the day. 

If, on the other hand, they seem to be an owl and send nocturnal emails, it’s probably fine to shoot them a late-night email, even if you don’t get an immediate response.

Determine whether or not they have key focus periods marked out in their calendar for strategic work and try not to interrupt those. Maintaining a good working relationship with their executive assistant can go some way to determining what mood the boss is in and whether it is a good time to engage.

8. Be a team barometer

Often, the boss is too busy to get into the details and is removed from how the team is coping. 

If you notice that tensions are running high or that certain members are burning the midnight oil, let your boss know. Make suggestions for how the load could be more evenly distributed.

Each of these tips needs careful thought and positioning. Ultimately what you seek is to combine the best of you with the best of your boss to drive the success you are both seeking.

Is managing up a good thing?

In short, yes! Managing up is a good thing. It is a great way to build a strong relationship with your boss. This is largely because it helps you understand their needs and priorities better so you can work more efficiently. When you anticipate issues and solve problems, it makes things run smoother for everyone.

Managing up also shows you're a hard worker who takes initiative, which can lead to more opportunities for growth in your career. Overall, it reduces stress and helps you perform your best by making sure you and your boss are on the same page.

What is the difference between manage up and manage down?

Managing up and managing down refer to how you interact with those above and below you in the organizational hierarchy.

Managing up:

• Refers to effectively working with and influencing your manager or those at higher levels
• Involves anticipating your boss's needs, understanding their priorities, and proactively supporting their goals
• Requires clear communication, taking initiative, and providing solutions rather than just identifying problems
• Builds a productive working relationship with your superiors

Managing down:

• Refers to leading and managing those who report to you or are at lower levels
• Involves delegating tasks, providing guidance, coaching, and feedback
• Requires setting clear expectations, motivating and developing your team
• Focuses on achieving results through your direct reports
• Involves making decisions that align with higher-level goals and strategies

In essence, managing up is about skillfully working with and influencing your managers, while managing down is about effectively supervising and leading your subordinates.

Both skills are important for success, especially in management roles where you need to navigate interactions both up and down the chain of command.

You can start managing up today

Learning how to manage up can transform you from just another employee to the go-to person for the tough challenges and growth opportunities. It's a skill that benefits leaders and direct reports at all levels, too.

Now you know what managing up is and why it’s important. Plus, you have some actionable tips to put managing up into practice. It’s time to give it a try!

If you need help, connect with a BetterUp Coach. They’re trained to help employees build the skills, mindsets, and behaviors needed to perform personally and professionally at their peak.