23 Managing Up

When you hear the phrase managing up, what do you think of It probably depends on your manager. If you have a competent boss who s a good leader, you probably see managing up as a positive way to align with them, so that you both achieve more. And if you re under a boss who has some professional or personal dysfunction, you probably see managing up as trying to minimize the impact that dysfunction has on you. No matter which situation you re in, here s some strategies you can use to work the most effectively with your manager. The first strategy is to gather information. You already have a lot of information about your manager that will guide your choices and actions. Think over the past few months and the different kinds of interactions you ve had with your boss, like oneonone meetings and conversations, department or team meetings, emails and phone calls and documents such as reports and presentations. Next, use this information to determine your manager s priorities. How do they communicate their p