We’ve spoken before about how ‘managing up’ is not a very helpful phrase. It feels like it could be useful, but it also sounds like it could mean sucking up to your boss, and while we’re here, what exactly is it?
Software engineer Julia Evans has a helpful explanation:
‘In my experience, managing up is usually a lot more practical. Your manager doesn’t (and can’t!) know every single detail about what you do in your job, and being aware of what they might not know and giving them the information they need to do their job well makes everyone’s job a lot easier.’
In a post on her excellent blog, she goes into eight categories of information which your manager might not know and what you can do to help.
It’s a great breakdown which might help you spot gaps in what you’re currently communicating to your boss:
- What’s slowing the team down
- Exactly what individual people on the team are working on
- Where the technical debt is
- How to help you get better at your job
- What issues they should be escalating
- What extra work you’re doing
- How compensation/promotions work at the company
Check out the article for what you can do to help keep your manager informed on each area.
