Managing up means making your boss's job easier without resorting to sycophancy. Mary Abbajay, president and CEO of Careerstone Group LLC, emphasizes that effective management involves understanding and adapting to your boss's working style, which ultimately benefits your relationship with them and the organization. For example, recognizing differences in communication styles can lead to more productive interactions. Key concepts from the page include: - Definition of managing up: Facilitating your boss's work. - Importance of adapting to different working styles. - The mutual benefits of a strong relationship with your boss. - Avoiding sycophantic behavior while still being supportive. - The overall goal of enhancing organizational effectiveness through better management practices.
This article is crucial for Engineering Leaders as it addresses the common challenge of aligning with diverse management styles, ultimately improving team dynamics and productivity. An actionable takeaway is to focus on understanding and adapting to your boss's working style to foster a more effective working relationship.
What is managing up?
Managing up boils down to this: Making your boss’s job easier. But that doesn’t mean you have to be a sycophant, says Mary Abbajay, president and chief executive of Careerstone Group LLC and author of “Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss.” She says: “It is about learning how to work well with somebody who may work differently than you.” When you manage up effectively, she says, your relationship with your boss works for you, for your boss, and for the organization.