This week, let’s reflect on a profound insight from the legendary management guru, Peter Drucker, that beautifully encapsulates an often-misunderstood aspect of professional growth and leadership. Drucker once said:
“The most important thing in a relationship is not what you get, but what you give… The best way to manage up is to make your boss’s job easier.”
At first glance, “managing up” can sound like a political maneuver or even subservience. However, Drucker strips away these misconceptions, revealing it as a fundamental principle of effective partnership and proactive leadership. It’s not about manipulating your manager; it’s about strategically contributing in a way that elevates both your performance and the team’s success.
Putting Theory Into Practice
Understanding the philosophy is one thing, but how do we translate Drucker’s wisdom into daily action? Managing up requires a shift from a reactive mindset—waiting for the next assignment—to a proactive one where you operate as a strategic extension of your leader.
Here are five tangible ways you can apply this principle to elevate your leadership impact:
- Anticipating Needs Before Being Asked: A leader who manages up effectively doesn’t wait for explicit instructions. They anticipate potential roadblocks or information gaps and provide solutions or data proactively. Imagine providing a summary of potential risks and mitigation strategies for a project before your boss even asks for an update.
- Bringing Solutions, Not Just Problems: It’s easy to flag issues. It’s harder, and far more valuable, to present a problem alongside one or more potential solutions. This demonstrates problem-solving skills and a commitment to shared success, rather than simply offloading challenges.
- Mastering Communication Style: Understanding your manager’s preferred “frequency” is key. Do they prefer quick bullet points or detailed reports? Do they need daily check-ins or weekly summaries? Adapting your communication ensures they receive information effectively, saving them time and mental energy.
- Protecting Their Time and Focus: Strategic managing up involves filtering distractions and handling smaller issues independently, only escalating when necessary. This allows your manager to allocate their precious time to critical decision-making and strategic planning.
- Taking Initiative on Feedback Implementation: When given feedback, a leader proactively incorporates it and demonstrates the changes. This reinforces their confidence in your ability to grow and improvement, making their coaching role far more impactful.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, managing up is about service and synchronization. When you prioritize making your leader more effective, you aren’t just helping them—you are optimizing the entire department’s output and creating a culture of reliability. By being the person who “gets it” before it needs to be explained, you transform yourself from a direct report into a trusted advisor.
My Personal Point of View
I’ve always viewed this quote as a powerful reminder that true leadership isn’t confined to formal titles. It’s about demonstrating initiative even when you aren’t the one setting the ultimate agenda. By proactively clearing obstacles for those above you, you free them up to focus on higher-level strategic initiatives, which ultimately benefits the entire organization. This approach cultivates a level of trust that effectively turns a “boss-subordinate” dynamic into a high-functioning partnership.
Book Recommendation: “Crucial Conversations”
By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
Why I recommend it: While not strictly about “managing up,” this book provides the essential toolkit for high-stakes communication. Effectively making your boss’s job easier often requires having difficult or nuanced conversations. This book teaches you how to speak persuasively without being abrasive, ensuring your proactive contributions are heard and valued.