Tips for Successful Upward Management

Being a high-level Executive Assistant is not about taking orders. It’s about taking ownership. After 15+ years supporting C-suite executives and board members, here’s what I know for sure: the most effective EAs don’t just make things run smoothly. They make impact. If you’re stepping into this space or leveling up, here are my top tips to truly excel: 🧠 Think like an executive Understand the business. Know the goals, the pressure points, the decision-making process. Anticipate what's needed before it’s requested. 📅 Master calendar strategy, not just scheduling You’re not managing time. You’re managing energy, priorities, and outcomes. Be intentional. Know when to say no or reschedule. 🚪 Be a gatekeeper and a bridge Balance access with protection. Communicate clearly and graciously. Know when to shield, when to inform, and how to keep momentum. 🔍 Stay three steps ahead Prep for board meetings early. Confirm logistics down to the last detail. Think ahead so your executive doesn’t have to. 🧭 Manage up like a pro Learn your executive’s style, pace, and preferences. Tailor your support to how they work best and help them stay at their best. 🤝 Build trust relentlessly Integrity, discretion, and follow-through earn influence. That influence allows you to make things happen behind the scenes. 📚 Stay curious. Keep learning Learn the language of the business. Ask questions. Understand the why, not just the what. 🏛️ Own the room, even when you’re not in it When an EA is sharp and aligned, people notice. Meetings flow, decisions stick, and everything runs smoothly. 💡 Balance fierce efficiency with human warmth Systems matter, but so does emotional intelligence. Be the calm in the chaos. The one who remembers both the details and the people. 📣 Know your value. Act like it This is a strategic role. Advocate for your seat at the table. And when you're there, use it to elevate others too. Being an EA at this level takes more than coordination. It takes clarity, confidence, and leadership of your own. If you’ve been in the EA seat at the top level, what would you add to this list? I’d love to hear what’s helped you thrive.

The best manager I ever had helped me get promoted, even though it meant I might take their job. The worst manager I ever had was terrified I would outshine them, and micromanaged me. This is something that is not talked about enough: ✅ Great managers grow you, even if it means outgrowing them. ❌ Bad managers block you because they fear your growth threatens their power. But here's the thing I have come to realize: most "bad" managers aren't bad people. They're often untrained, unsupported, and thrown into leadership without a roadmap. In fact, a staggering 82% of managers (according to the Chartered Management Institute) have no formal leadership training. Here is the thing: most leaders are promoted because they excelled as strong ICs. But the skills that made them great ICs are not the same ones they need to lead. Without proper training, they fall back on what they know: doing the work themselves. This leads to frustrated teams, reinforces their own fears of being inadequate, and often pushes them to micromanage as a way to regain control. As a coach, I see this all the time. So here's what I tell clients: ✅ If you have a great manager who has actual management skills, cherish them. Show up fully and learn everything you can.  Because great managers are in the minority, and they'll often stay in your corner long after you move on. ❌ And if you're under a struggling manager? 1. Manage up with clarity and confidence. Ask for clear expectations. And remember, you don’t have to say yes to everything. You can (and should) guide the conversation toward how you think things should be done. Tactfully managing expectations is a leadership skill, not you being difficult. 2. Use alignment language. Frame your work in terms of team outcomes. Show what real collaboration looks like and resist the urge to compete on credit. When you model the behavior you want to see, it sets an important tone. 3. Document everything. Keep track of your wins, feedback, and major communications. If someone tries to take credit for your work, it’s a lot harder when there’s a paper trail. 4. Set boundaries and speak up when needed. If they take credit for your work, call it out respectfully. If they micromanage, share how that impacts your ability to do your best work. Be curious, not confrontational and ask what’s behind their behavior instead of assuming the worst. 5. Build allies and influence around your manager. Don’t get stuck playing one-on-one. Build relationships with peers, cross-functional partners, and skip-level leaders. When others see your value and vouch for your impact, it reduces your manager’s ability to control the narrative. And if you’ve tried all this and still feel unseen, stifled, or worse, retaliated against, then know this: it’s not your job to fix them.  Even in this market, you don’t have to stay in a place that keeps you small. You got this. 💪 #productmarketing #leadership #coaching

I hate it when ambitious people b*tch about their boss. Why burn their most important relationship? Managing up is how you progress. It's not being nice, or friendly or visible. It's enabling them to do their jobs more effectively. If you are that person you will be invaluable. By helping them succeed - you too will succeed. And it's a skill that you will need throughout your career. You can’t rise fast - if you can’t manage up. So instead of moaning. Here’s how: 1. Anticipate, don’t wait If they have to ask, you're already behind. Pre-empt their questions. Try and solve problems before they land. ↳ Hack: Make it your business to know what their priorities are for that week so you can plan for what might come up. 2. Communicate clearly and concisely. Don't send them walls of texts and endless emails. Ruthlessly edit. Make it easy for them to say yes (or no) - fast. ↳ Hack: Turn your communication upside down. Don't put the key info or action point at the end. Put them at the start. 3. Protect their time like it’s your own Don’t clog up their calendar. When you meet prepare. Be the person who brings organisation, not chaos. ↳ Hack: Don't angle for endless 'face time'. Focus on quality meetings not quantity of meetings. 4. Take tasks from them. The most valuable thing any direct report can do. Take tasks from them and get them done. They will love you for it. ↳ Hack: Say, 'Let me take care of that.' 5. Make them look good Your job isn’t to outshine them. It’s to create value they can’t ignore. Their success pulls you up with it. ↳ Hack: Be the person who is prepared to do the ugly, unsexy, difficult stuff. Most people hide. But that is what will help you shine. (Almost) everybody has a boss. I did even as a global CEO. And it's the most important relationship in your career right now. Your most single-minded task should be to help them succeed. Because that's the quickest way for you to succeed. What would you add to this list? Drop it below - I’ll turn the best ones into a follow-up post 👇 💚 Follow me for more No Bullsh*t career advice. ♻️ Repost to inspire your team.

Today, a 21 year old marketer on my team asked me for the most important advice to grow in his career. My answer: learn to manage up. Most people suck at it. They say too much or too little. Here's how to give the right amount of context: 1. Set the stage Executives are busy people. And they have a lot going on. You have to set the stage for each discussion. Start every new email thread or meeting with 60 seconds of context: Try to answer: "What are we talking about? Why? Where did we leave off?" 2. Treat their time as 10x more valuable than yours This will discipline your comms and make you more diligent about follow-ups, action items etc. 3. Use FYI and NNTR Most comms don't require a response. Don't make recipients feel the need to take action when they don't. Example: "FYI. The dashboard has been updated, mentioning here since you asked about it." 4. Understand hierarchy of comms Different modes of comms are better for different situations. For me: Most Urgent to Least Urgent = Phone, Text, Slack, Email. Anything async that will take me more than 5 mins should come as an email with subject "Request" and a clear deadline 5. You still own the monkey Your action item is your action item. If you're you sent a request to your boss, and even agreed on the deadline, it doesn't shift the responsibility. It is your job to escalate till the thing is done. 7. Always follow up After each meeting, make it practice to send a quick summary and action items. And use clear agreements - specifcy WHO will do WHAT by WHEN 8. Regular reporting Create a regular, systematic, clearly framed written process by which you share your progress against plan. Make it as data-driven and quantitative as possible. Try to measure, set targets and report on EVERYTHING. Rigor goes a very long way. 9. Seek feedback Both on your work and the system. "Do my updates make it easy for you to see progress and make corrections? What can I do to make it a 10/10" A good boss would love to get this question from you.

As a former Senior Director at L'Oréal, here's 5 of my best practices that led me to accelerate my career and land 7 promotions in under 10 years. #𝟭: 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻. I stopped being reactive in hoping my work would speak for itself, and replaced that with proactivity and intentional strategy. For example, I didn’t look at internal promotion timelines as an end all. Rather, I used it as fuel to learn what I needed to do to get there sooner than later and mastered that approach. #𝟮: 𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲. When you’re faced with obstacles at work, you can either let them overcome you or you can overcome them. I chose option 2. For example, when my boss went on maternity leave without a replacement, I didn't have a direct boss for over 6 months. Instead of seeing this as a challenge that would get the best of me, I used it to step up, show my readiness for growth and collapsed the reporting lines with my senior leaders. This paid off big time in landing my next promotion. #𝟯: 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻. 𝗕𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲. If you’re relying on your boss to do all the heavy lifting for you in driving your promotions, you’re in for a rude awakening. You need to show up for yourself in everything that you do and identify moments to showcase this consistently. This is your career to take control of so don’t stay in the passenger seat. #𝟰: 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝘃𝘀. 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄. Instead of having ambiguity around what's needed to take on that next level-role, take action to learn where the gaps are and close them. This can be done with a simple example of speaking to people already in that role and cross-referencing it with where you’re at in terms of your own skills and competencies. #𝟱: 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. Relationships, relationships, relationships. This is your #1 currency in your career and something that is too often neglected in lieu of doing good work and thinking that’s enough. It’s not. The weight that people have and will continue to have in your career advancement is crucial. Don't disregard this. 👇 Be sure to check out my FREE #linkedinlearning nano-course called 𝗡𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿! https://vist.ly/pj9z It's just 11 minutes long and value-packed to change the game for you. You can thank me later! #promotion #careeradvancement #careertips #corporate #careergrowth

Want to stop feeling like your boss hates you? Here are some tips for managing up. Most technical folks I know just aren’t good at upward management. And that’s okay - it’s a tough skill to learn and it’s hardly ever taught. In my experience, you have to be actively seeking out the advice to hear it. Which sucks, but that’s life. So here are my tips to manage upward more effectively: 1. Stop focusing on your problems I can hear you now - “Carly, if my boss doesn’t know about my problems, how can they help me?” As someone who loves to vent, I get it. But chances are that your boss hears about people’s problems all day long (and while that’s certainly part of their job, we’re discussing life hacks to endear them to you). So instead of venting, become “solutions oriented.” What does that mean? Quickly highlight problems while offering solutions. You don’t have to offer the perfect solution (and certainly your boss might want to do something totally different than what you offer) but making the effort to seem solutions oriented will make a world of difference. 2. Stop wasting their time In line with the above, when you bring forth your solutions offer them as decision points and keep it brief. In practice this looks like switching from a long, drawn out description of the problem terminating with “I think we should do X” to “Our options are to do X, Y or Z to fix Problem A. What do you think?” 3. Give regular updates Once you align on a solution to a problem, provide regular quick updates on the status of your solution. The cadence of this might be multiple times per day if urgency is required, or it might look like a once per week email (I prefer Mondays). Remember to include work completed, work in progress, and an estimation of work remaining. If timelines slip (shit happens) give them a heads up! You can’t always control what happens around you, but you can control how you communicate about it. If you have a good manager, making these simple changes should help. If you don’t, then a LinkedIn post from a stranger was never going to do much to begin with 😆 What are your tips for managing up? 👇