Managing up is a great skill to develop as it can make your life and your boss’s life easier and more productive. Managing up is about learning how to work and communicate with your boss so that while she is leading your team to meet company goals, she feels your support in doing so. In Sara McCord’s words, “it’s about supporting your supervisor’s efforts and goals by identifying and sharing ideas for growth."

Many people confuse managing up with managing your boss. No. That’s not it. Please stop trying to give your boss assignments and feedback in the name of “managing up”—that’s not what that is. That’s just a misunderstanding of role that will likely piss off your boss, quite the opposite of making her feel supported in her goals. 

If you find yourself wanting to delegate a task to your boss, instead of thinking of it in terms of delegation, frame your request in a way that supports her goals. For example, your boss has given you the task of assessing the efficiency of your IT department. In order to complete it, you need to interview the COO. You know your boss is close with the COO, while you have yet to meet him. Instead of telling your boss to introduce you, frame your request for the introduction politely, and as a way for you to deliver on the assignment she gave you. Give her context: as you do your assessment of the IT department, you believe it could be strengthened by getting input from the COO. Then ask if she agrees. If she does, politely request that she make the introduction with the COO, so that he understands the context of your conversation. 

Ultimately, if your boss feels that your assessment of the IT department’s efficiency is going to be stronger because of your meeting with the COO, she’ll do what she can to help you succeed—because it helps her succeed. And if she succeeds, the company succeeds. And if the company succeeds, you succeed. The loop goes round and round, it just takes some thoughtful framing of your requests when you need something from your boss. 

How do you request things from your boss? Share your experiences in the comments below.