Managing Up 101: How to Get More from Your Boss with Melody Wilding
Mar 3, 2025
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Melody Wilding, an executive coach and author of "Managing Up," shares her expertise on navigating workplace dynamics. She emphasizes the importance of mastering the skill of managing up to improve relationships with bosses. Melody discusses five essential conversations to have with your manager for better alignment and communication. She also highlights the value of understanding work styles, setting boundaries, and providing effective feedback. Listeners are empowered to approach their work relationships with confidence and create lasting change.
Fostering a partnership with your manager improves workplace dynamics and empowers employees to advocate for their needs effectively.
Understanding different communication styles between you and your boss can enhance collaboration and reduce tension in professional relationships.
Deep dives
Empowering the Partnership Dynamic
Transitioning from a subordinate to a partner in workplace relationships empowers individuals and improves dynamics with managers. By fostering this partnership, the hierarchical structure is leveled, creating an environment where both parties contribute equally. This shift allows employees to advocate for their needs while providing valuable insights to their managers, which can enhance decision-making. Such an approach is beneficial across various organizational cultures, encouraging collaboration and open communication.
The Skill of Managing Up
Managing up involves navigating relationships with authority figures and ensuring mutual understanding and alignment. It is not about ingratiating oneself with a superior but rather about recognizing and fulfilling both personal and organizational goals. Developing this skill is essential for professional growth, as it can significantly alleviate workplace stress and enhance productivity. Techniques such as aligning objectives with a manager's preferences can make communication smoother and more effective.
Navigating Communication Styles
Understanding different communication styles is critical for effectively managing relationships in the workplace. Employees often misinterpret their manager's behavior due to misaligned preferences, which can create tension and confusion. Identifying whether a manager is more task-oriented or people-oriented can help employees adapt their communication approach for better collaboration. As illustrated through real experiences, making small adjustments in communication can lead to significant improvements in workplace dynamics and mutual respect.
Have you ever felt like you lack agency at work, like your boss doesn’t hear you, or like you need to shift your relationships with the people in charge? Managing up might be the key to creating positive, lasting change. In today’s episode, Jessi Hempel talks with Melody Wilding to give you the roadmap to managing your manager. Melody Wilding is an LMSW, executive coach, and author of the new book Managing Up: How to Get What You Want from The People in Charge.
Melody and Jessi discuss:
Five conversations you can have with your boss to improve your working relationship
How managing up is a skill that anyone can learn
Aligning yourself with your manager to ensure you are working on the right work
Understanding both your boss’s and your own work style and preferences
How to give your boss the right feedback in the right way
How and when to set boundaries at work
Continue the conversation with us at Hello Monday Office Hours! Join us here, on the LinkedIn News page, this Wednesday at 3 PM EST.
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