How to Be Awesome at Your Job 2025 GREATS: 1038: Getting What You Need from Your Boss through Managing Up with Melody Wilding
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Dec 18, 2025 
Melody Wilding, a professor of human behavior and executive coach, shares actionable strategies for managing up. She discusses how reframing this concept can enhance your work life rather than serve merely as flattery. Melody highlights ten critical conversations to have with your boss, including alignment, boundaries, and visibility. She emphasizes starting with straightforward wins during one-on-ones and underscores the importance of tackling advancement discussions before performance reviews. Her insights are rooted in evidence-based practices and personal experiences.
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Reframe Managing Up
- Managing up is not about pleasing your boss or ingratiating yourself to others.
- It's a self-focused skill to make your work life easier and more on your terms.
Missed Alignment Led To Layoff
- Melody shared that she was laid off after not aligning with her manager about a pet project and expectations.
- She had no other advocates and was sideswiped because she hadn't managed up or clarified context.
Start With A Styles Conversation
- Ask your manager about their communication preferences and share yours to create a two-way working agreement.
- Frame it as wanting to help them get the best performance from you and ask, "Does that sound good?"