Establishing trust, ensuring career growth, and avoiding the discomfort of reporting to a micromanager can all be achieved through effective “managing up” techniques.
As software engineers progress from junior to senior roles, their scope of impact grows from focusing solely on excellent technical execution, to influencing people and processes. However, even as experienced individual contributors (ICs), some of the key enablers for software engineering effectiveness lie outside your direct control. This is where managing up – the art of building mutually beneficial partnerships with managers – becomes critical for delivering more impact.
Scenarios where managing up is required
Specifically, software engineering ICs encounter three pivotal scenarios that necessitate mastering managing up skills:
First technical lead without management experience
If you are the first staff or distinguished engineer a manager has had on their team, you play an instrumental part in setting the tone for the team’s technical vision and standards.
