The secret to managing up at work

It’s not about you. (Really.)

"Ironically, I feel confident leading a team. It's the confidence as a leader with those more senior than me that I really struggle with."

If you’re nodding your head at this statement (from a coaching client of mine, we’re working together on their leadership impact in a new role), then you’re not alone.

Managing up in your role, especially if you’re already quite senior, meaning you may be managing up to VERY senior stakeholders, is hard.

There’s a lot written in leadership books about managing high performing teams, and that’s a critical component of your leadership journey (it’s one of the most popular modules in my group coaching programme for that reason).

But managing up? That’s less often discussed. And I often wonder why.

In my own corporate career - where I spent more than 20 years in senior roles with some very demanding senior stakeholders - I made mistakes, fell headlong into potholes and crashed into barriers and challenges whilst trying to navigate this leadership challenge.

One of my worst moments? (I still shiver when I think about this, many years on)

The time my CEO came into my office after a leadership meeting we were both in, sat me down (in my own office!), fixed me with an icy glare and said “NEVER put words in my mouth again Louise.”

Shivers. (For context, I was the CEO’s Director of Communications and what she described was…kinda my job? Kinda.)

And therein lies the rub.

I had made one critical mistake…