Managing Up: Tips and Tricks and Why Everyone Should Do It

Managing a team can be both a rewarding and complex responsibility. From working with different communication styles, expectations, and motivations, sometimes a manager cannot do it all. This can be especially difficult within tech companies where a lot of working relationships happen online instead of in an office. Managing up really is about helping your boss and organization be the best they can be.

 When you hear managing up, you might think of having to manage your boss. In some ways this is true, but it’s less about managing your boss, as much as it is about supporting them. So why do it? Managing up is actually a great way to build a better relationship with your boss, work towards company goals, and position yourself as a person of influence within your team and organization. It’s a great way to build trust and respect with management and allow your career to grow. Remember, managing your boss is NOT playing politics or insubordination, but simply working more effectively as a team.

Many managers and executives actually enjoy when their employees manage up effectively. Juan Pablo Buritica, the head of engineering at the fintech company Stripe, has said that he enjoys being managed up, as it makes him feel like his team has his back and that they work better as a team.  

So, if we can get all that, how do we do it? Managing up relies on you as an employee being proactive, a team player, a great communicator, and a solution finder. You are determining what your boss’s priorities, motivations, and concerns are. By using the following tips, you too can learn how to effectively manage up and find out what those key wants and needs are.

Data Gathering: Figure out your boss’s and organizations goals, priorities, and motivations. Why are things done the way they are? What needs to get done first? How does your boss want to complete these tasks? When do these need to be done? Look at the Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why. Jill Weltzer, head of engineering leadership development at Lyft, agrees. When a supervisor and a direct report are able to have a conversation about goals, motivations, and responsibilities that the manager has, it allows their report to be effective in managing up.

Communication is Key: Everyone communicates in different ways. Looking at how both you and your boss communicate are equally important. If your communication styles are similar, you likely already have a great working relationship with clear expectations. But that’s often not quite the case. When working with varied communication styles, try to determine how to tailor your message to your boss’s communication style. Not only will this lead to more clarity, but it also allows you to manage your expectations of what information you will receive from your boss, and how. This can help mitigate frustration and confusion, as clear expectations will have already been set.

Check-In Often: Especially in the world of technology, where the company may be online, it’s difficult to have the everyday office chit-chat that helps strengthen work relationships. According to Microsoft Program Manager Kyle Rubenok, finding ways to have more personal check-in meetings with your boss to help build rapport can allow you to find out more information that can help you manage up better. This can include more information on how they communicate, how they perceive their role, and their thought processes. Scheduling in casual conversation with your boss can also show you are willing to invest time into your relationship with them, and that you value them as a team member.

Align Your Goals with Your Boss’s: Having multiple projects on the go means that often, there are differing priorities within a team. While normal, it can lead to your own needs and desires being put on the backburner. Matt Greenberg, former VP of engineering at Credit Karma, encourages people to learn their manager’s personal motivations beyond their goals and the company strategy. One way to align your goals is to find common ground. If you require more headcount for an upcoming project, and your boss wants to speed up a project timeline, demonstrating the benefit of bringing on additional team members can be a win-win for both of you.

Be Specific in Your Asks: When asking your boss for things like additional funding or headcount, be specific in your requests. Frame your needs in a way that also aligns with their priorities, including what would happen if these needs are not met. Jill Weltzer encourages creating a “vision document” for your boss to outline why this ask is necessary, how you will use the resources being asked for, and what will happen if this request is, or isn’t met.

If you’re looking to help improve efficiency and leadership within your team and with your boss, these tips can help. Managing expectations, aligning goals, and frequent communication can be a great steppingstone to career growth, influence within your company, and overall job satisfaction.