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Managing Up
Table of Contents
Boss needs early signal with options - not noise, not radio silence until the crater is public.
Key Concept
- Managing up means giving leadership the facts, tradeoffs, and recommended move before they hear it from someone else.
- Surface Bad News Early is the ugly-truth version; Status Without Theater is the cadence.
- Surprises destroy trust faster than bad news told Tuesday with a rollback plan.
Level 1 - Recognize
Managing up means early signal to leadership - facts, tradeoffs, and a recommended move.
Level 2 - Explain
Like telling the coach about the twisted ankle at warm-up - early truth saves the game plan.
Level 3 - Use
On yellow status, send three bullets: what changed, two options, what you recommend - before the exec meeting.
Level 4 - Connect
Managing Up is not flattery - Plain Commitments at Work still applies; do not greenwash to please upstairs.
Level 5 - Create
Pair with Stakeholder Mapping so you know which leader needs detail vs headline only.
Examples
- Glad I flagged the vendor slip Tuesday with two recovery options - boss heard it from me first, not the client.
- I waited until Friday to mention scope creep - managing up failed; the exec had already promised the old date externally.
Note Relationships
| Relationship | Wikilink | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| extends | PM Mindset | Comms habit inside the hub |
| extends | Surface Bad News Early | Ugly truth upstairs |
| extends | Status Without Theater | Honest cadence |
| contradicts | Demanding Unearned Respect | when pulling rank replaces signal |
