You’re delivering results. You’re improving efficiencies, solving problems, making things better for your team and the wider business. You’ve got ideas, real, considered, practical ideas. You’re doing the work, staying ahead of deadlines, thinking beyond your role.
But for some reason, it’s not quite landing.
You give updates, but they don’t seem to stick. You make suggestions, but they get acknowledged and then quietly passed over. You can’t help but feel like you’re doing everything right but it’s not moving the dial where it matters.
Sound familiar?
This is the frustration of managing upwards. Because it’s one of those things no one really teaches you, but it affects everything: how you’re seen, how your work is received, and how much trust and influence you’re given.
It’s not about people-pleasing. It’s not about saying yes to everything. It’s about building a relationship with senior leadership that’s built on trust, clarity, respect and mutual understanding.
And when you get that right? It changes everything.
Here’s how…
1. Understand Their World: Pressures, Priorities and KPIs
Before you can build a strong working relationship with senior leadership, you need to understand what’s driving them. What are they trying to achieve and what’s standing in their way?
What commercial pressures are they under? What KPIs are they measured against? What business outcomes are they expected to deliver this quarter, this year? Where are they seeing risk and where do they see opportunity?
Often, senior leaders are thinking at a different level. While you’re focused on how things work day to day, they’re focused on what moves the needle on financial performance, market positioning, risk exposure, operational efficiency, reputation. The lens is broader, and the expectations higher.
That means your work needs to connect to outcomes they care about. It’s not just about doing a good job it’s about showing the commercial return. What business value are you creating? How are you driving productivity, profitability, or impact?
When you can understand and speak to the goals, pressures and KPIs that matter to them, your work becomes easier to support. You’re not just delivering. You’re helping them deliver.
2. Communicate in Their Language, Not Just Yours
When it comes to managing upwards, how you communicate is just as important as what you say.
To build influence and trust, you need to understand their communication style. Are they detail-driven or high-level? Do they respond to metrics and data, or do they want to hear the story behind the numbers? Do they prefer short, direct updates or thoughtful narrative that brings the work to life?
Every leader has a different style. Some want bullet points. Some want business cases. Some want visuals. Some want context and connection.
Once you understand their preferences, you can align to them. That doesn’t mean changing who you are it means meeting them where they are, so your message cuts through. If they’re high-level, start with outcomes. If they love numbers, bring metrics. If they want to understand the ‘why,’ give them a clear narrative.
And importantly: be proactive. Don’t wait to be asked for updates. Bring clarity, insight and visibility on their terms.
3. Influence with Strategic Context
It’s easy to think that if something’s a good idea, it should be obvious to everyone. But senior leaders aren’t always operating with your context. That’s why how you frame your ideas is critical.
They want to know: What’s the business benefit? What’s the ROI? What’s the risk profile? How does it connect to the strategy?
Even when your idea is smart and practical, if it’s framed through an operational lens rather than a strategic one, it may not land.
To influence upwards, you need to speak to what matters to them. That might mean talking about cost savings, customer outcomes, risk reduction, or long-term efficiency gains. It might mean showing that you’ve considered impact, scalability, or resource requirements.
Influence isn’t about volume. It’s about clarity, credibility, and alignment with the bigger picture.
4. Manage Expectations Through Honesty and Realism
One of the most powerful ways to build trust with senior leaders is to be honest, especially about what’s achievable.
That means setting realistic expectations. Being transparent when timelines are tight. Naming risks early. Being clear about trade-offs and capacity.
What leaders don’t want is surprise. What they do want is partnership someone who tells it like it is and brings solutions to the table when challenges arise.
This doesn’t mean being negative or overly cautious. It means being clear and calm about what’s possible and what’s not. Because when you manage expectations well, you create confidence. You reduce friction. You protect delivery.
And over time, you become someone they can rely on not just when things are going well, but when things get tough.
5. Set Boundaries and Push Back with Solutions
Sometimes, you have to say no. Or at the very least, “not now.”
That can feel risky. But here’s the truth: not pushing back when something isn’t feasible is often far riskier.
When you don’t set boundaries, deadlines get missed. Work suffers. Teams burn out. Customers get frustrated. Delivery drops, and trust erodes.
So yes, push back but do it well. Be respectful, but clear. Frame your response around consequences, not defensiveness.
“To deliver that by Friday, we’d need to pause X. Do you want to make that trade-off?”
“We’d need additional resourcing or more time to deliver that effectively, how would you like to proceed?”
“If we phased this over two sprints instead of one, we could manage quality and avoid delay. Would that work?”
Boundaries are essential. Not because you don’t want to deliver but because you do want to deliver and deliver well. When you offer viable alternatives, you’re not saying “no.” You’re helping make better decisions and protecting the outcome.
6. Build a Relationship Based on Trust, Honesty and Respect
At the heart of managing upwards is relationship. Not just a functional, transactional relationship but real partnership.
Trust doesn’t come from being agreeable. It comes from being honest, consistent, and dependable.
That means:
- Being transparent about what’s working and what’s not.
- Setting clear boundaries and holding them.
- Saying what you’ll do and then doing it.
- Being realistic, not just optimistic.
- Showing up with solutions, not just problems.
But trust is also built over time through small moments. Quick updates. Thoughtful follow-ups. A heads-up when things change. It’s about becoming the person they know they can depend on, even when things are moving fast.
And to foster that relationship? Stay curious. Ask how they prefer to work. Check in on priorities. Look for ways to add value that make their job easier, not just yours. When you build that mutual respect, everything becomes easier from conversations to collaboration to support when it really counts.
Conclusion
You can be doing everything right on paper delivering great work, driving results, solving problems and still feel stuck if the relationship with senior leadership isn’t working. Because managing upwards isn’t just about performance. It’s about connection. Communication. Trust.
It’s not about saying yes to everything or trying to keep people happy. It’s about building a relationship that’s grounded in respect, shaped by honest conversations, and strengthened by clear boundaries. It’s about being transparent when things are hard, showing up when it matters, and following through on what you say you’ll do.
It’s also about making your value visible. Not waiting to be noticed, but actively showing what you bring how you think, how you grow, and how you help the business succeed.
When you get this right, the whole dynamic shifts. You’re no longer second-guessing yourself or chasing recognition. You’re working in sync, leading with confidence, and building trust that lasts.
Because the real power in managing upwards isn’t about control it’s about partnership. And when that partnership is strong, so is your impact.
