Managing Up Successfully: Build Effective Relationships with Your Boss & Peers

Understand your boss: Communication style, preferences and pet peeves, strengths vs weaknesses

Effective upward communication: Clarity and brevity, timeliness, fact vs opinion, active listening, ask sharp questions, lead good 1:1s

Give upward feedback and share your own style and preferences: Choose your battles, ask permission, bring examples (SBI)

Problem solving and decision making: Avoid surprises, ask to be involved, manage emotions, reference preferred style

Conflict resolution: Extreme problems and decisions, leadership & stress management, when to compromise or quit and commit

Managing expectations: Clarify and propose, personal vs team, measurement and reporting, follow-ups, shifting priorities, set boundaries

Intentionally and thoughtfully ask for career support: Get feedback, give permission, ask honest questions, ask for examples

Earn and get investment (growth) from your leaders: Goals and timelines, ask for opportunities, executive mentors

How to navigate remote situations and frequent boss changes

Mange up to your skip level leaders: Important to engage, less time, ally with your boss, escalations

Mange up to senior peers: Leverage expertise and interests, power dynamics, negotiation, collaboration, keep your boss in the loop

Enable people to manage up to you: Publish your preference, psychological safety, favoritism, help your team understand auditing

When managing up becomes unethical or manipulative

Positioning vs lying: Sandbagging, withholding information

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