"Win at Work"

Weekly Newsletter by Yasar Ahmad

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Managing your relationship with your seniors "managing up" is a critical career skill. A survey of high-earning professionals found 88% link “managing up” to career success. This isn’t about flattery or manipulation; it’s about collaboration. When you and your manager work well together, you both win.

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Week 27 - Master Managing Up

The problem: Many people take a passive approach with their bosses. They wait for direction, hope for the best, or conversely see their manager as an adversary to resist. Neither extreme helps you.

Remember, your boss often has significant influence over your assignments, evaluations, and promotions. If you don’t communicate effectively or understand their expectations, you can fall out of sync. Misalignment might mean you’re working hard on the wrong priorities, or small issues fester because your manager is unaware of challenges. Worst case, a poor relationship with your boss can stall your growth or create daily stress. Conversely, when a boss trusts you and knows you’re aligned with them, you get more autonomy, support, and opportunities.

Solution: Proactively manage up by fostering a strong, positive partnership with your manager:

Understand their goals and pressures: Take time to grasp what your boss is accountable for. What are their key goals, targets, and concerns from higher-ups? The more you understand what makes your boss tick (and what keeps them up at night), the better you can tailor your work to help meet those objectives. For example, if your manager is under pressure about customer satisfaction, you might prioritize responsiveness and flag client issues early.
Communicate, communicate, communicate: Don’t make your boss guess what you’re doing or if you’re facing roadblocks. Provide regular updates (e.g. a weekly brief or in one-on-ones) on progress, and alert them early if something’s off track along with how you plan to address it. Good managers hate surprises. By keeping them in the loop, you build trust and show maturity. Also, ask for feedback proactively: it shows you want to meet their expectations and improve continuously.
Be reliable and solution-oriented: One sure way to become your boss’s go-to person is to consistently deliver on your commitments and approach problems with solutions. When you bring an issue, also suggest a course of action (“We’re behind schedule, but I’ve identified two ways to catch up”). This makes your boss’s job easier and they will deeply appreciate it. Reliability + initiative = a happy boss who can count on you.
Adapt to their working style: Every manager has preferences. Do they like detailed written updates or quick hallway chats? Do they plan ahead or act last-minute? Notice and adjust accordingly. Managing up often means presenting information in the way that’s easiest for them to digest. It’s not about changing who you are, it’s about communicating on their wavelength. If your boss is very visual, for instance, providing a quick chart or slide might get your point across better than a long email.
Offer help (and manage expectations): If you see your manager overwhelmed or a gap where you can contribute beyond your duties, step up and offer assistance. Great managing up can sometimes mean managing down a bit for them, taking initiative to handle something before it lands on their desk. Just ensure you’re not overcommitting; manage expectations by being clear on what you can take on and by when. Your boss will see you as a true partner, not just an employee waiting for orders.

Keep in mind, managing up is a two-way street built on respect. You’re not kissing up; you’re creating a professional relationship where both sides communicate openly and understand each other’s needs. When done right, your boss sees you as dependable, proactive, and aligned with the team’s mission – in other words, indispensable.

Don’t think of your boss as a hurdle to overcome, but as an ally to cultivate. By managing up understanding their goals, keeping them informed, delivering great work, and adapting to their style you make your manager’s job easier and create a better working environment for yourself. That can translate into more trust, better assignments, and strong advocacy for you when it counts. In short, help your boss succeed, and you’ll both succeed.

Thanks

Yasar