Managing Up at Work
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for any business professional who wants to receive merit and recognition from their supervisor for their hard work and ideas. Those who seek a better relationship with their supervisor will also benefit from taking this course.
Skill Level
Foundational
Time Commitment
Weekly Time Committment
60 Minutes/Week
Duration
3 Weeks
Leader Behaviors
This course strengthens your skills in the following leader behaviors:
- Builds Trust
- Collaborates and Promotes Teamwork
- Communicates
- Demonstrates Self-Management
- Pursues Self-Development
- Solves Problems
Course Overview
The reality of today’s workplace is that individual success depends not only on how well you do your job, but how well your supervisor does their job. A supervisor’s role should not come from a command and control mindset, but rather a mindset of collaboration. When our supervisors are unable to meet deadlines, accomplish goals, and fulfill expectations, those unmet obligations inevitably become yours, and your relationship can suffer greatly.
This course presents the principles of managing up that help you to be more in tune with your supervisor’s needs and help you to support their daily obligations, which in turn will benefit you. Your work life will run more smoothly, you will encounter less conflict, and you will make a positive impression on your supervisor.
Completing this course will help you:
- Identify the principles of managing up and determine expectations.
- Establish a clear system of organization and discover methods that eliminate preventable problems.
- Identify best practices for handling difficult and frustrating situations and determine positive behaviors that make you an invaluable employee.
Learning Path
Session 1 - Managing Up: Expectations
In this session, we will define the concept and principles of managing up. We will also identify the best practices for meeting with your supervisor regularly and recognize what is expected of you so that you are both on the same page.
Virtual Session (30 minutes) + Online Journal (15 minutes) + Activity (15 minutes)
Session 2 - Managing Your Supervisor
In this session, you will learn to identify your supervisor’s priorities, goals, and pressures. Next, you will define a clear system of organization of information and examine how to eliminate preventable problems in your everyday work and interactions.
Virtual Session (30 minutes) + Online Journal (15 minutes) + Activity (15 minutes)
Session 3 - Managing Yourself
In this session, we will recognize the behaviors that frustrate your supervisor and learn ways to avoid them. We will also examine the behaviors that reflect positively on you and identify best practices for handling situations that frustrate you. Finally, we will also explore ways to engage in polished self-promotion.
Virtual Session (30 minutes) + Online Journal (15 minutes) + Activity (15 minutes)
Leader Behaviors
This course strengthens your skills in the following leader behaviors:
- Builds Trust
- Collaborates and Promotes Teamwork
- Communicates
- Demonstrates Self-Management
- Pursues Self-Development
- Solves Problems
Why people choose LEL for Leadership Development
The insights from this course have changed how I approach leadership. I now feel equipped to handle challenges more effectively and inspire my team every day.
An invaluable experience! The practical strategies and hands-on exercises helped me build strong leadership skills that I apply daily in my role.
Frequently asked questions
What is managing up training?
Managing up training teaches you to build a stronger, more productive relationship with your own boss so your work runs smoother and your contributions get noticed. Leadership Edge Live delivers it as a three-week live virtual course covering the principles of managing up, how to read your supervisor’s priorities and pressures, and how to manage your own behavior so your manager comes to rely on you.
What does managing up actually mean?
Managing up means deliberately working on the relationship with your supervisor to get better outcomes for you, your team, and the organization, not managing them behind their back. This course frames it as understanding your boss’s goals and pressures and supporting them, because when your supervisor succeeds, their unmet obligations stop landing on you.
How do you deal with a difficult or frustrating boss?
You deal with a difficult boss by identifying the behaviors that frustrate you, managing your own response, and focusing on what you can influence in the relationship. A full session of this course covers handling frustrating situations and the behaviors that reflect well on you, so you can stay effective and professional even when your manager is not making it easy.
How do I get recognition for my work without bragging?
You earn recognition by aligning your work to what your supervisor actually values and by practicing what this course calls polished self-promotion, making your contributions visible without overselling. Participants learn to communicate results in a way that feels natural rather than boastful, which is how good work stops going unnoticed at review time.
Who should take a managing up course, and is it live?
This course suits any professional, from individual contributors to middle managers, who wants a better relationship with their supervisor and more recognition for their work. It is delivered live online across three weekly sessions rather than as self-paced video, so participants practice against their own real situations, and a team can start with a free trial session.
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100% of program profits support March of Dimes.