Managing up as an engineer means proactively building a collaborative relationship with your manager so both of you succeed. It is not about manipulation; rather, it requires anticipating your manager’s goals, communicating technical complexities simply, and removing surprises.

  1. Communicate in Business Terms Engineers often get bogged down in technical architecture, but managers care about business value, timelines, and risks.

• Translate the tech: Instead of explaining the mechanics of a database refactor, explain that it will reduce page load times by 20% or prevent a critical service outage. • Preempt the ask: Your manager will inevitably be asked for status updates by leadership. Provide the answers before they have to ask. [1, 3, 7]

  1. Present Solutions, Not Problems It is easy to point out why a system is flawed or why a deadline is unrealistic. True “managing up” involves bringing potential solutions to the table alongside the issue.

• When delivering bad news about a timeline, immediately suggest what parts of the feature can be descoped to meet the original deadline, or what the revised timeline looks like.

  1. Actively Manage Expectations The fastest way to lose your manager’s trust is through unexpected delays.

• Use time-buffering to your advantage. Set realistic delivery dates and under-promise to over-deliver. • Flag roadblocks and risks the moment you realize them, rather than waiting until the day a feature was supposed to launch. [1, 8]

  1. Understand Their Priorities Understand what your manager is being evaluated on. If they are dealing with high-stress budget constraints or aggressive sales targets, align your engineering initiatives with those realities.

• Ask simple questions in your 1-on-1s like, “What is the biggest operational headache the team is facing right now?” or “What are our main priorities for this quarter?”

  1. Shine a Light on Your Work Your manager cannot see every line of code you write or bug you squash. You need to provide visibility on your progress and wins.

• Keep a “brag document”. Track your completed projects, architectural wins, and times you helped teammates. This makes 1-on-1 updates and performance reviews much easier.

If you want to focus on improving how you manage your relationship with your manager, tell me:

• What is your manager’s preferred communication style (e.g., Slack, brief emails, or detailed weekly docs)? • Is there a specific conflict or project roadblock you are currently facing?

[1] https://leaddev.com/leadership/6-managing-techniques-senior-ics [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixRwlE_kmug [3] https://www.thewave.engineer/articles.html/productivity/the-sneaky-difficult-skill-of-managing-up-r52/ [4] https://www.reddit.com/r/ExperiencedDevs/comments/1k5co5v/what_is_managing_up_and_what_are_some_pros_and/ [5] https://engineering-manager.com/2019-04-13/master-skill-of-managing-up [6] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17819771 [7] https://kellanem.com/slides/managing_up/ [8] https://ardalis.com/managing-up-developers-guide-career-advancement/ [9] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-can-i-effectively-manage-up-deon-nel [10] https://newsletter.eng-leadership.com/p/how-to-manage-up-as-an-engineer-or [11] https://stackoverflow.blog/2022/02/23/what-you-give-up-when-moving-into-engineering-management/ [12] https://builtin.com/articles/managing-up