To excel as a manager, you need to master three essential skills: managing up (aligning with your boss’s priorities), managing down (motivating and leading your team effectively), and managing across (collaborating with peers to foster trust and organizational success). Balancing these is a continuous juggling act that defines strong leadership.
There are three management skills that are essential to career success in almost any organization: managing up, managing down and managing across. Up, down and across. These skills—like juggling balls—require constant attention and agility in daily interactions.
Managing Up
Managing up is often the first skill we develop early in our careers. Most of us begin by reporting to someone, and those who succeed learn to prioritize keeping their manager informed and supported.
An early lesson from my career still resonates: a former manager, known for their intensity, once said, “When your manager needs something, it goes straight to the top of your priority list.” Over time, I realized this was more than just advice—it was a cornerstone of effective leadership. Aligning with your manager’s priorities ensures mutual success, fosters trust, and creates opportunities to contribute meaningfully.
Managing Down
Eventually, you become a boss yourself. Becoming a manager introduces the responsibility of “managing down.” For many, stepping into this role is a milestone, accompanied by the assumption that authority automatically ensures results. But the reality is more nuanced.
The hard truth of management is that formal authority has its limits. Employees have choices—about how much effort to invest, how engaged to be, and whether to stay under your leadership. This reality makes it imperative to focus on creating an environment where employees feel valued and supported, keeping them motivated and productive. Effective managers empower their teams, aligning individual aspirations with organizational goals to foster high performance and satisfaction.
Managing Across
Managing across an organization tests a leader’s ability to build trust and influence peers without direct authority. This skill becomes indispensable in collaborative settings, particularly for those who serve on cross-functional teams or management committees.
A cohesive management team can elevate an organization’s success, while dysfunction can derail it. When individual members prioritize personal agendas over organizational objectives, cooperation gives way to competition. By contrast, high-performing teams are characterized by mutual respect and a shared commitment to the organization’s mission. Not unlike a daring trapeze act where members can take calculated risks and support one another, secure in the knowledge that their colleagues will be there to catch them.
The Juggling Act
Mastering these three skills—managing up, down, and across—is essential for effective leadership. Top performers excel by understanding when to shift their focus among these areas, ensuring balance and responsiveness in any situation. This juggling act, when done well, turns managers into the stars of their organizational “center ring.”
[FROM THE ARCHIVES: This blog post was originally published in 2012 and has been updated with new content.]