The Importance of Managing Up When Working Remotely

When done well, managing up makes your manager’s (and your) job easier, especially in a remote work environment. Understanding the best way to communicate with your boss, demonstrating that you care, meeting performance goals and more, won’t go unnoticed.  

How Do You Manage Up?

• Communication - A great way to manage up when it comes to communication is to understand your manager’s preferred communication channels. In addition to your regular 1-on-1, if you have a question, how should you reach out? By actively listening to your manager’s needs you can communicate with them in an efficient way.
• Be proactive - Now that you know how your manager prefers to communicate, be proactive about sharing updates and anticipating questions. This may be via Slack, in your 1:1, or in a shared document where project status is tracked.
• Build your resilience - Can you remain calm and productive under pressure and cope well with change? Can you help your manager when they’re under pressure and experiencing change? This is a great way to manage up.
• Be results-oriented - With a results-oriented manager, a way to manage up is to acknowledge the importance of performance standards – and meet them. Supporting your teammates in maintaining performance standards helps your manager (and your team) succeed.

Managing up can be especially important with a newly hired manager, or when you change teams. Demonstrating these behaviors from the get-go will start your relationship off on the right foot. Managing up with a longtime boss can also help you renew your relationship. Make a few of the goals above a priority in your next one-on-one, like talking through communication, getting to know something personal or understanding their development goals. 

With these tools, you’re on your way to a better managerial relationship at work - whether in an office or working from home.

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