Effective managing up means giving concise, anticipatory updates, understanding your boss's priorities, and offering solutions, so you build influence, avoid surprises, and advance your career.
Managing up isn't a vague soft-skill; it's about sending the right information at the right time. Mark C. Crowley stresses that his teams should alert him to potential problems early, even if they think they have it under control, so he can allocate mental bandwidth to solutions. This proactive, direct communication cuts surprises and builds trust.
Wes Kao and Beth Miller add that brevity and speaking your manager's language are critical. Kao's "minimum viable backstory" framework shows how to strip away fluff and get to the juicy part fast, while Miller advises mirroring your boss's priorities, goals, and terminology to demonstrate reliability and alignment. Oren Ellenbogen rounds out the advice by urging you to surface risks and opportunities, ask the right questions about their focus, and document discussions for asynchronous review.
Together these perspectives form a practical playbook: anticipate needs, frame updates concisely, align with the manager's metrics, and always pair problems with possible solutions. Applying these tactics lets mid-level leaders earn credibility, influence decisions, and navigate difficult relationships without the typical friction of surprise or miscommunication.
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