How "Managing Up" Can Help You Shine in the Workplace
You’ve probably heard the phrase “managing up” before, but do you know what it means? Managing up doesn’t mean overpowering your boss. Instead, it’s about getting a better understanding of their management, leadership, and communication styles to have a strong employee-employer relationship. “Managing up is essentially when a direct report, through a positive relationship, is able to make the job of their supervisor easier,” said Karen Grant for BetterUp. “It’s all about creating value for your boss. And in turn, they guide you to be the best employee possible.”
Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels
The key to managing up is taking pride in the success of a project or organization to the point where you are inclined to be proactive, ask the right questions and solve problems. People who are great at managing up know what their boss needs to reach business goals and become indispensable assets to their team.
For example, if you’re working with your boss to produce an event and your boss asks you to print 100 invitations but you know there are 12 extra people that recently registered for the event, it would be “managing up” to flag this to your boss and suggest printing 112 instead. Managing up creates an active feedback loop of astute teamwork. A team-member that doesn’t manage up might have just executed the task without thinking critically about it, creating more problems for your boss down the line. Those who manage up take ownership over their work and think about the big picture.
These skills can help you to manage up:
Active listening
Communication
Critical thinking
Conflict resolution
Creativity
Empathy
Flexibility
Problem-solving
Responsibility
Self-awareness
One of the major benefits of managing up is that it can often lead to a salary increase, bonus, mentorship, more accountability over work, and accelerated career progression.
Now that you’ve gotten a more-depth understanding of what managing up entails, here’s how you can implement this at your job.
Try to solve your boss’s problems
This is a big one! Think of any issues your boss may be dealing with at work. Are they struggling with team communication? Is there a project they need assistance with? While it’s easy to focus on your goals and assignments at work, to manage up, you’ll need to consider what your boss needs as well.
Take your communication to the next level
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Many professionals, even seasoned ones, shy away from being inquisitive because they believe it makes them look weak or ignorant. However, when you take the initiative to ask your leadership team questions when you’re unsure about something, it shows your desire to have clear communication and it shows that you are thinking critically about your project and want it to be successful.
Analyze your boss
It's essential to figure out your boss’s leadership, management, and communication style. Figure out their work style to ensure that you’re meeting their standards. In addition, it’s always great to have a one-on-one conversation with your boss to get their perspective on your performance. Every boss works differently, and the sooner you understand their tendencies is the more you can adapt to their workflow.
Discover the bigger picture
The best way to start managing up is to align with your boss on two main question: what are my personal career goals and what are the team’s goals? Sometimes we don’t fully understand the scope of our boss’s job, which leads us to misunderstanding the context of our work and executing tasks that don’t actually solve problems. “The biggest reason people suck at managing up is because they don’t actually understand their boss’s job — but always think they do,” Varun Srinivasan told First Round Review.
Understand the difference between vocalizing and communicating
As you work on your communication skills, ensure you’re not simply vocalizing issues without offering suggestions. Take in others’ ideas and solutions, and provide helpful suggestions rather than criticize them. Be a thoughtful employee who considers how feedback can be most helpful for others in the workplace.
Absorb both the good and bad feedback
Do you remember when your day was going exceptionally well, and then you had one minor issue at work that negatively impacted the rest of the day? As humans, we often focus more on negativity than positivity. While your manager can congratulate you on meeting deadlines and suggesting great ideas, you may get hung up on their one suggestion for improvement. Make sure to celebrate your wins at work and take in constructive criticism to improve your job performance.