The Art of Managing Up
Being great at your job isn't always enough. Learn how to influence your manager and build a strategic partnership that accelerates your career.
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Managing up is about becoming the person who makes your manager's life easier without making yours harder. If you don’t take the lead here, you’re leaving your career trajectory in the hands of someone who might not even know what you did yesterday.
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The Art of Managing Up
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Managing up is a strategic way of influencing the decisions and actions of your manager to build a productive partnership. It is not about manipulation or being a "suck-up," but rather about making your manager’s life easier so that you can do your job more effectively. This is critical because approximately 75% of professional friction stems from the relationship with one's boss, and those who master this skill can move up in their careers 1.5 times faster than their peers.
To manage a micromanager, you should pull them in closer by providing proactive updates before they have a chance to ask for them, which helps alleviate their stress and builds trust. For a "ghost" manager who is hands-off or avoidant, you must create your own visibility by sending structured updates and setting your own guardrails. This prevents a situation where the manager is surprised by your work months down the line because they weren't paying attention.
An upward leader acts as a Buffer, a Translator, and an Advocate. As a Buffer, you dampen frustrations from senior leadership to protect your team and handle minor issues so your manager can focus on high-level tasks. As a Translator, you turn corporate jargon into actionable steps for your team and rephrase team concerns into "manager-speak" that focuses on metrics and impact. Finally, as an Advocate, you push back or suggest new directions by linking your ideas to the goals and data your manager cares about most.
Effective communication requires adjusting your delivery to match your manager's needs. For example, if you are an introvert with an extroverted boss, you should provide brief, regular updates to give them peace of mind. If your boss is a "Thinker," you should argue for your ideas using data and efficiency metrics rather than subjective feelings like "morale." If your boss is a "Judger" who values predictability, you should provide rough drafts and midpoint updates to satisfy their need for structure.
When faced with conflicting demands or last-minute requests, you should provide your manager with a framework for the decision rather than just saying no. Use a trade-off approach by explaining that if you prioritize the new task, a previous project will slip by a specific amount of time, and then ask them which one is the priority. Additionally, using "I intend to..." phrasing signals that you are in control and reduces the manager's perceived need to constantly check in on your progress.
Создано выпускниками Колумбийского университета в Сан-Франциско
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Создано выпускниками Колумбийского университета в Сан-Франциско
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
