Managing up means helping your leadership make better decisions by giving clear context, surfacing risks early, and making their job easier — not flattery or politics.
How to approach it
text
1. Understand your leader's goals and pressures
2. Bring solutions and options, not just problems
3. Surface risks early with proposed mitigations
4. Communicate in their format — concise, decision-ready
Worked example
text
S: My director was about to commit to a delivery date I knew was unrealistic.
T: I needed to change course without undermining him publicly.
A: Before the commitment, I sent a one-page note with the risk, two scope
options, and a recommended date with reasoning. I framed it around his goal
of a credible launch.
R: He chose a phased plan, hit the revised dates, and started looping me in
earlier on planning.
