August 29, 2014
20-Minute Manager:
Managing Up
Forge Strong Ties, Set Clear Expectations,
Promote Your Ideas
Harvard Business Review Press
©2014 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation
Adapted by permission of Harvard Business School Publishing
Corporation
ISBN: 978-1-62527-084-9
Key Concepts
• Know yourself and your manager well. Managing up
takes a keen eye for details and a willingness to
change your behavior. Putting time into getting to
know your boss and understanding the dynamics
of your relationship will pay substantial dividends.
• Manage expectations on both sides. Setting concrete,
clear expectations is a must-do in the process of
building healthy and productive relationships.
Give your manager’s priorities higher importance
than yours, but make sure to clarify your expecta-
tions as well.
• Listen with a keen ear. Deducing your manager’s
priorities and style of leadership requires great lis-
tening skills. Put your ear to the ground and work
at understanding where your manager is coming
from.
• Communicate with a clear, authentic voice. Do not
leave anything up to chance when communicating
Business Book Summaries® August 29, 2014 • Copyright © 2014 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
with your manager. Make your points clearly and
consistently and portray yourself in a steady light.
• Negotiate with diplomacy. Be tactful in the way you
approach negotiations with your manager. Dis-
agreement often fosters better decisions, so voice
your concerns and points of view clearly, but with
respect.
• Monitor the relationship as it progresses. Always be
aware of how you stand with your manager and
look for ways to improve. Watch the way your
relationship develops over time and search out
strengths and weaknesses.
• Make necessary refinements. When problems arise,
smooth them over as soon as possible. If systemic
problems become apparent, put significant effort
into solving them. Your relationship with your
manager is perhaps the most important profes-
sional relationship you have, so treat it seriously.
20-Minute Manager: Managing Up Harvard Business Review Press
Introduction
Horrible bosses have become a permanent fixation of
American culture and an undeniable reality in some
corners of the modern workplace. For the most part,
though, bosses are normal human beings trying to
do their best in positions of authority. Your relation-
ship with your boss is a human one, and pouring care
and commitment into the relationship will inevitably
strengthen it and produce positive results for your
company. In 20-Minute Manager: Managing Up,
Harvard Business Review presents some clear-sighted
instructions on how to improve your relationship
with your manager. By understanding your boss,
working to clarify and manage expectations, commu-
nicating clearly, negotiating well, and being vigilant
in relational upkeep, you can solidify a great relation-
ship and have an increased voice in the halls of power.
What Is Managing Up?
Contrary to popular opinion, “managing up” does
not have to involve cozying up to or flattering those
in charge. Instead, it can be a conscious approach to
working with your supervisor toward goals you both
care about. A symbiotic, mutually beneficial rela-
tionship between an employee and a manager can
increase productivity and goodwill.
Managing up involves setting a positive tone, which
requires skills such as self-knowledge, knowledge of
superiors, knowledge of expectations, listening, com-
municating, and negotiating. Managing up helps you
obtain the resources and goodwill needed to do great
work since your relationship with your manager and
company are interdependent. Strong, trusting rela-
tionships will reap positive benefits for all involved.
Failing to properly manage up can be risky, as you
run the risk of being misinterpreted and unfairly
labeled. Refusing to take note of your manager’s style
will result in significant difficulties for both of you.
Knowing Your Manager—and Yourself
Managing up is a process that never truly ends, but
it becomes easier once a foundation is established.
The first requirement in establishing such a founda-
tion is to figure out where you and your boss stand
on professional and personal levels. There are three
important parts of this process:
Business Book Summaries® August 29, 2014 • Copyright © 2014 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
1. Understanding the roles and obligations at play in your
relationship. There is an array of priorities and pres-
sures to deal with, and if you know this layout well
you will be able to identify both risks and opportu-
nities to collaborate.
2. Supporting your boss when she performs tasks for
her superiors. This will build trust and give you a
chance to collaborate on higher level tasks.
3. Analyzing your attitudes toward authority for signs of
counterdependency (resentment manifesting in open
confrontation) and dependency (resentment manifest-
ing in sullen silence). Both of these attitudes are un-
healthy and will foster difficulties in personal and
professional relationships.
You most likely have a fair picture of your strengths
and weaknesses. Identifying your boss’s strengths and
weaknesses can be a bit more difficult, but is no less
vital a task. Support your boss’s good ideas and posi-
tive actions for the company. Match up your strengths
and weaknesses with your boss’s and look for areas of
mutual overlap or compatible differences.
Chances are that you and your boss could have differ-
ent work styles. Do a bit of groundwork to determine
her style, such as asking questions, observing inter-
actions, and talking to co-workers. Make your work
style clear as well, but indicate your willingness to
adapt to suit your boss’s chosen style.
Further Information
Information about this book and other business titles:
hbr.org
Click Here to Purchase the Book
Related summaries in the BBS Library:
HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across
Build Relationships, Herd Cats, and Gain Influence
By Harvard Business Review Press
Lead Your Boss
The Subtle Art of Managing Up
By John Baldoni
Page 2
20-Minute Manager: Managing Up Harvard Business Review Press
Everyone has motivators. Identifying your boss’s
motivators will help you tailor your conversations
and emphasize the facets of your messages that she
finds most important or intriguing. If you explain
your motivators as well, chances are that your boss
will respond and support you in a similar fashion.
About the Author
Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) was
founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, wholly-
owned subsidiary of Harvard University,
reporting into Harvard Business School. Our
mission is to improve the practice of man-
agement in a changing world. This mission
influences how we approach what we do here
and what we believe is important.
With approximately 350 employees, primar-
ily based in Boston, with offices in New York
City, India, and the United Kingdom, Harvard
Business Publishing serves as a bridge between
academia and enterprises around the globe
through its publications and multiple platforms
for content delivery and its reach into three
markets: academic, corporate, and individual
managers. Harvard Business Publishing has a
conventional governance structure compris-
ing a Board of Directors, an internal Executive
Committee, and Business Unit Directors.
The three market groups, Higher Education,
Corporate Learning, and Harvard Business
Review Group, produce a variety of media,
including print and digital (Harvard Business
Review, Harvard Business Review Press Books,
Harvard Business School Cases, Brief Cases,
blogs), events (Participant-Centered Learn-
ing Seminars, Custom Events, Webinars), and
online learning (Harvard ManageMentor, Lead-
ership Direct, Online Courses, Simulations).
Through these publishing platforms, Harvard
Business Publishing is able to influence real-
world change by maximizing the reach and
impact of its essential offering—ideas.
Business Book Summaries® August 29, 2014 • Copyright © 2014 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
Managing Expectations
Every relationship needs clearly defined expectations.
Since your boss is in charge, make sure you under-
stand her expectations as thoroughly as possible. You
cannot meet your boss’s expectations if you do not
have a good grasp on how she defines responsibilities
and constructs standards. Try to get your boss to artic-
ulate her expectations of you. If she is unclear, follow
up to understand as much as possible.
The vast majority of managers expect a combina-
tion of things from their employees, including idea
generation, competent management, collaboration,
leadership, curiosity, and a positive spirit. They do
differ in the value they place on each characteristic, so
pay attention to your boss’s style to identify her pri-
mary expectations.
To meet your manager’s expectations you will have
to set your own. Do this with ambition tempered by
realism. Identify important needs and present them to
your manager, but do not place an excessive amount
of stock in her ability to meet your requests. Clarify
expectations in a face-to-face meeting and work to
translate those expectations to your co-workers or
subordinates. “Managing out” can be just as tricky
as managing up. Identify co-workers’ perceptions of
your manager, as well as their ability to meet goals
and the best communication methods to use.
Even with clear expectations, common ground will
not always be easy to find. Remember, you are the one
who must give in during situations of conflict. Those
adept at managing up can minimize tension, but
subordinate limitations are always present. You can
influence your manager, but you are not in charge.
You have important goals, but your manager’s goals
take priority. You cannot set as many expectations for
your manager as she can for you because you have
more to prove.
Communicating With Your Manager
Persuasion is a fine art. You should be deliberate in
your communication with your manager as strate-
gic “pressure” may not work. Try to understand the
values underlying your manager’s approach to day-
to-day issues and listen and observe closely to get a
close read on your manager’s communication style.
Page 3
20-Minute Manager: Managing Up Harvard Business Review Press

Different managers may interpret common statements address potential pitfalls. Offer a variety of options to
in different ways. For example, when one manager your manager, engage in productive verbal and non-
says “My door is always open,” she may mean it lit- verbal cues, avoid heated language, and take your
erally and get upset when subordinates do not take manager’s concerns into consideration.
advantage of her availability. Another manager may
Disagreements can be uneasy, but if handled well
consider it a good principle, but in practice he may
relationships will deepen, trust will solidify, and your
maintain some distance from his employees.
company will emerge the winner.
Do some investigation to discern whether your man-
Negotiating With Your Manager
ager prefers to discuss issues immediately or read
Say you are trying to convince your boss to allocate
a report before discussing them. Find out whether
more resources to an important project of yours.
she prefers general overviews or detailed facts and
Finances are tight, so you will have to pull off some
figures. Pinpoint how often she wants to receive infor-
significant negotiation. Negotiating with your boss
mation and act accordingly.
is an art form, seeing as you are trying to persuade
Your dialogue with your manager greatly impacts someone in authority to see things through your eyes.
productivity. Try to be as specific as possible regard- You will need to do three things.
ing deadlines and be honest regarding your capacities
1. Establish your credibility.
and the resources you need to do a good job. Reiterate
objectives in conversations with your manager and 2. Pinpoint priorities.
clarify aspects you do not understand.
3. Communicate in a strategic manner.
How you present problems and opportunities to your
Solidifying respect in your judgment is key to good
manager is important. For optimal understanding
negotiating. If your reputation precedes you, all the
and minimal frustration, describe impacts in clear
better. If not, try to gently but confidently establish
terms and show how they affect your organization.
credibility by drawing attention to your expertise and
Identify your solution clearly and make recommen-
trustworthiness. Be sincere and broadcast your com-
dations, but thoroughly discuss the pros and cons
mitment to your proposal. Highlight your track record
of your approach. Try to flesh out the implications
of success with previous commitments and note their
by identifying stakeholders and communicating the
positive results. Court suggestions from your man-
costs and benefits to each. Enlist your manager in con-
ager and incorporate her concerns into your proposal.
tributing to and fine-tuning your plans.
Put your manager’s interests first to increase the
likelihood of your proposal’s con-
Managing up is a constant process. It takes keen observation sideration. Be honest regarding
and a willingness to adjust your behavior on a daily basis. But your suggestion’s limitations and
once you and your boss have built a trusting relationship on a demonstrate how you are working
solid foundation, cultivating it becomes easier and less time- to surmount them.
intensive. Establish your expertise by pre-
senting thorough research on your
proposal. Make your summary succinct and present
Disagreeing with your manager may seem diffi-
key data first, but discuss counterarguments as well.
cult, but productive disagreements help managers
Capitalize on opportunities for first-hand experience
make better decisions. Alternative points of view
and share said experience with your manager. Back
create wider pictures and more detailed renderings
up your argument with support from trusted sources
of reality. Keep disagreements civil and productive
and get testimonials from relevant individuals. Offer
by acknowledging the strength in your manager’s
proof of your concept by conducting tests and experi-
views, providing alternative routes of action rather
ments if possible.
than objections and explaining how your ideas can

Business Book Summaries® August 29, 2014 • Copyright © 2014 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved Page 4
20-Minute Manager: Managing Up Harvard Business Review Press
When negotiating with your manager, it is important
to prioritize your assignments by deciding what you
want to accomplish, what order you want to accom-
plish it in, and when you want to accomplish it. Try
to manage your time as independently as possible,
but do not hesitate to discuss any deviations with
your manager as they arise. Try to preempt problems
before they materialize by carefully negotiating work
priorities. Show awareness of all projects you are
responsible for and clearly delineate your ability to
accomplish tasks. Be involved in reconfiguring your
tasks and maintain an open mind to your manager’s
suggestions. Enlist your manager in setting deadlines
for your new work projects and make sure you get
your negotiation results in writing. Your manager
is likely very familiar with the importance of priori-
ties, so demonstrating your ability to think ahead will
increase her respect for you.
Persuasion is important in negotiations. To maximize
your persuasive power, try to avoid accusing or using
“you”-centric language. Promote cohesion rather than
harping on differences or engaging in blame-shifting.
Focus on mutually beneficial aspects of your proposal
and illustrate shared positive outcomes. Foster col-
laboration and a close working relationship with your
manager. Mutually beneficial solutions should be the
focus of your negotiations. You are not arguing for
your way—you are fostering compromise.
Monitoring the Relationship
Never take your relationship with your manger for
granted. Any important connection requires commit-
ment, nurturing, and reflection. Constantly assess the
strengths and weaknesses in your relationship with
your manager by considering ten questions:
1. Have you taken primary responsibility for manag-
ing your relationship with your boss?
2. Are you aware of her expectations for you? Do you
believe they are realistic?
3. Is your manager well-versed in the resources you
need to meet the expectations she has set for you?
4. How aware is your boss of your work activities
over the past few months? Do you need to update
her?
Business Book Summaries® August 29, 2014 • Copyright © 2014 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
5. Are you consistently meeting your commitments?
If you are having trouble doing so, how can you
take steps to better yourself?
6. Do you get along with your manager on a daily ba-
sis? Are there any changes you need to make?
7. Do you communicate well both verbally and
in writing? Can you streamline the communication
process?
8. Do you and your manager trust each other?
Can you do anything to increase and solidify this
trust?
9. Do you support your manager when you talk
to fellow co-workers and engage in goal execution?
10. How could you support your manager more ef-
fectively?
Smooth out ripples in the relationship as they appear.
Try to use occasional assessments to reevaluate the
relationship and unearth problems you may have
missed. Address systemic problems and be aware of
things without obsessing over them.
g g g g
Features of the Book
Estimated Reading Time: 1 hour, 63 pages
Harvard Business Review’s 20-Minute Manager:
Managing Up offers a concise, practical primer in the
art of managing your relationship with your imme-
diate superior for optimal productivity and minimal
tension. The book is specifically written for ambitious
professionals and aspiring executives who are seeking
to improve their relationships with their superiors.
Most chapters contain case studies and charts to
explain the content. There is also an extensive “Learn
More” section with directions for further reading
and exploration. The book is somewhat sequential in
nature, and is best read from cover to cover.
Contents
What Is Managing Up?
What managing up involves
Why managing up is useful
Page 5
20-Minute Manager: Managing Up Harvard Business Review Press

Knowing Your Manager—and Yourself

Roles
Strengths and weaknesses
Work styles
Motivators
Managing Expectations
Know what your manager expects
Set your own expectations
Understand the limits of managing up
Communicating with Your Manager
How to listen and observe
How to present problems and opportunities
How to disagree with your manager
Negotiation with Your Manager
Establish your credibility
Identify priorities
Communicate strategically
Monitoring the Relationship
Learn More
Sources
Index

g g g g

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