0
LeadStore

Blog

Managing Up: The Career Skill Nobody Taught You (But Should Have)

Related Reading:

Your boss isn't a mind reader, and frankly, they shouldn't have to be.

After seventeen years of watching talented professionals stagnate in roles they should've outgrown years ago, I've realised the single biggest career killer isn't lack of skills or poor performance. It's the complete inability to manage upwards effectively. Yet somehow, this critical skill gets about as much attention in business schools as proper coffee etiquette. Which is to say, none whatsoever.

Managing up isn't about brown-nosing or political manoeuvring. It's about creating a strategic partnership with your supervisor that benefits both parties and, ultimately, drives better business outcomes. But here's where most people get it spectacularly wrong – they think it's about making their boss happy.

Wrong. Dead wrong.

The Real Purpose of Managing Up

Managing up is about making your boss successful. There's a massive difference, and understanding this distinction will transform your career trajectory faster than you can say "performance review."

When I was a junior consultant back in 2009, I spent months trying to impress my manager with detailed reports and perfectly formatted presentations. I thought I was being helpful. Instead, I was creating more work for her because I hadn't bothered to understand what she actually needed. She needed quick updates she could relay to senior partners, not War and Peace-length analyses of client satisfaction metrics.

The lightbulb moment came during a particularly brutal quarterly review. "Andrew," she said, "you're solving problems I don't have whilst ignoring the ones I do." Ouch. But also, brilliant feedback that completely redirected my approach.

Your boss has pressures you can't see. Budget constraints, board expectations, competing priorities from multiple departments. When you understand these pressures, you can position yourself as a solution rather than another item on their already overwhelming to-do list.

Know Your Boss's Success Metrics

This is where 73% of professionals completely miss the mark. They focus on their own KPIs without understanding how their role contributes to their manager's objectives.

Start by asking direct questions: "What are your biggest priorities this quarter?" "What keeps you awake at night regarding our department?" "How is success measured at your level?" These aren't touchy-feely questions – they're strategic intelligence gathering.

I learned this lesson the hard way when I spent three months perfecting a client onboarding process that reduced paperwork by 40%. I was chuffed. My boss was unimpressed because her primary concern was client retention, not administrative efficiency. Had I asked the right questions upfront, I could've focused on initiatives that actually moved the needle on her priorities.

Communication: The Non-Negotiable Foundation

Here's an unpopular opinion: your boss doesn't owe you detailed explanations for every decision. But you absolutely owe them clear, concise updates on your work.

The best professionals I know have mastered what I call "headline communication." They lead with the bottom line, then provide supporting details only if requested. "Project X is on track for Friday delivery, no issues" versus "Project X has been progressing well, we encountered a minor setback with vendor Y but resolved it through Z approach, timeline remains unchanged, delivery still Friday."

See the difference? One communicates the essential information efficiently. The other forces your boss to pan for gold in a river of unnecessary detail.

But here's where it gets interesting – timing matters enormously. Some managers prefer weekly catch-ups, others want daily check-ins, and some only want to hear from you when there's a problem. Learn your boss's communication preferences and adapt accordingly. This isn't about changing your personality; it's about professional courtesy.

Anticipate and Solve Problems

The most valuable employees aren't the ones who never encounter problems – they're the ones who identify issues early and come armed with solutions.

Last year, I watched a brilliant project manager almost derail her career by consistently bringing problems to her boss without suggested solutions. "The client wants changes to the scope," she'd report. "The vendor is pushing back on timelines." "The budget is looking tight." Each conversation left her manager feeling like he was playing whack-a-mole with issues.

Contrast this with another team member who approached similar challenges differently: "The client wants scope changes. I've prepared three options with cost and timeline implications. Option two maintains our margin whilst giving them 80% of what they're requesting." Same problems, completely different positioning.

The Art of Strategic Disagreement

Here's another unpopular opinion: good bosses want to be challenged, not agreed with blindly. But there's a massive difference between strategic disagreement and contrarian arguing.

When you disagree with a decision or direction, frame it as additional perspective rather than opposition. "I see the logic in approach A, but I'm wondering if we've considered the implications for customer service response times" is far more effective than "I think that's wrong because..."

I once saved my department from a spectacularly bad software implementation by framing my concerns around risk mitigation rather than personal preference. Instead of saying "I don't like this system," I presented data showing how the proposed solution could impact our service level agreements. The decision was postponed pending further investigation. Sometimes being right matters less than being heard.

Understanding Organisational Dynamics

Your boss operates within a complex web of relationships, politics, and competing priorities that you might not see from your vantage point. The more you understand these dynamics, the better you can support their navigation of them.

Pay attention to interdepartmental relationships. Notice which initiatives get fast-tracked and which seem to stall indefinitely. Observe how decisions flow through the organisation. This isn't about becoming a political operative – it's about understanding the ecosystem in which your boss operates.

For instance, if you know your boss struggles to get resources from the IT department, don't come to them with technology-dependent solutions unless you've already done the groundwork with IT. If marketing consistently pushes back on compliance requirements, help your boss anticipate these objections before the next cross-functional meeting.

The Feedback Loop That Actually Works

Most professionals are terrible at seeking feedback. They either avoid it entirely or ask such vague questions that the responses are useless. "How am I doing?" is not a feedback question – it's a conversation killer.

Instead, ask specific questions tied to observable outcomes: "What could I have done differently in the client presentation to better support your objectives?" "Which of my recent projects had the biggest impact on team productivity?" "Where do you see the biggest opportunity for me to contribute more strategically?"

But here's the crucial part – act on the feedback you receive. I've seen countless employees ask for input then completely ignore the guidance provided. Nothing undermines the feedback process faster than treating it as a box-ticking exercise rather than genuine professional development.

Timing Your Requests and Ideas

Not all moments are created equal when it comes to approaching your boss with requests or new ideas. Learn to read the room and timing appropriately.

Monday mornings are often terrible for non-urgent discussions. End of financial year is rarely ideal for proposing new initiatives. Right before board meetings, your boss is probably not in the headspace to discuss your professional development goals.

Conversely, there are golden windows of opportunity. After successful project completions, during strategic planning periods, or when your boss is clearly looking for solutions to visible problems. Timing isn't everything, but it's definitely something.

When Managing Up Goes Wrong

The biggest mistake I see professionals make is confusing managing up with managing down. Your goal isn't to control your boss's decisions or manipulate outcomes in your favour. It's to make yourself invaluable by making their job easier.

Red flags include: constantly cc'ing senior leadership on communications, going around your boss when you disagree with decisions, or taking credit for collaborative work. These behaviours don't demonstrate managing up – they demonstrate poor judgment and unreliable partnership.

Building Long-term Professional Capital

Managing up effectively creates compound returns on your career investment. Bosses who see you as a strategic partner become advocates for your advancement, references for future opportunities, and sources of challenging assignments that develop your skills.

But this requires consistency over time, not sporadic efforts when you want something. The professionals who excel at managing up treat it as an ongoing responsibility, not a tactical manoeuvre deployed during performance review seasons.

Think of it this way: every interaction with your boss either deposits or withdraws from your professional capital account. Consistent deposits – through reliable delivery, strategic thinking, and proactive communication – create substantial reserves you can draw upon when you need support for career advancement or challenging situations.

Managing up isn't about becoming someone you're not. It's about becoming the best professional version of yourself whilst helping others succeed. And in my experience, that's a combination that creates opportunities everywhere you go.

For more insights on professional development and supervisory skills, check out Workplace Abuse Training sessions available in Australia.