University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Managing Up
Book

Managing Up

How to Move up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss

Mary Abbajay
Wiley, 2018
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Bosses come in all shapes, styles, and personalities. Some bosses make working for them a joy, others an abject hell. Bosses are in charge and will pretty much do as they want. You can be sure that if your boss makes you unhappy, you are the one who has to compel change. Your effort should embrace author Mary Abbajay’s sensible recommendations.  Be brave, she says, work to understand your boss’s preferences and personality type, spark change, and take charge of your own career with – or around – your boss.

Summary

Bosses won’t change, so – if change is needed – employees must create it.   

People quit their jobs because of their bosses far more than they quit for any other reason. Either the boss stinks, or the employee’s relationship with the boss stinks, or both. Most of the frustrated workers walking out the door never figured out how to deal with their ornery boss. But, employees can get a handle on managing the bosses who manage them; it’s called, “managing up.” 

Managing up calls for learning how to become a “successful follower.” Managing up is not political or Machiavellian. Rather, it demands being aware and perceptive about your boss, and studying how he or she deals with work and the world, including you and your fellow employees.

Managing up may require deliberately changing your behavior and controlling the way you come across to your boss. It means figuring out how to get along with your boss despite his or her flaws and dealing with reality instead of dwelling on the idealized version of a boss you wish you had.

“Manage up” to take charge of your career. ...

About the Author

President and founder of the Careerstone Group consultancy Mary Abbajay  is a public speaker, organizational consultant and corporate trainer. 

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