Why 'Managing Upward' Is The New Power Skill At Work
Discover how managing upward is helping organisations make better, faster decisions in an AI-driven world
As workplaces become flatter, faster and increasingly collaborative, leadership is no longer confined to corner offices. The professionals making the biggest impact today are those who influence decisions without chasing authority, proving that managing upward is less about office politics and more about helping organisations think better.
Not long ago, success at work was measured by how well employees followed instructions. Today, hybrid work has scattered teams, artificial intelligence is transforming workflows, and managers juggle business targets, customer expectations and people priorities simultaneously.
The most valuable employees now aren’t just those who deliver — they’re those who help eaders decide better. Leadership thinkers writing for Harvard Business Review have long argued the concept — “managing upward” — is less about persuasion, more about partnership.
Not a one-way street
“Managing upward is not about influence. It is about building alignment, trust and a higher-performing organisation,” says Anup Nair, Director, Strategy & Operations at CP Plus. Employees contribute most, he believes, when they present customer impact, business logic, risks and alternatives instead of opinions alone.
There is a structural reason this skill has become urgent. As businesses grow more agile and cross-functional, leaders rarely have complete visibility into every customer interaction or operational challenge — the people closest to the ground often hold insights that never reach decision-makers unless they choose to speak up.
Archana Kamboj, Principal-Human Resources at Alyve Health, calls managing upward the ability to bridge that information gap with context rather than ego, arguing that organisations lose momentum not because leaders decide poorly, but because employees wait too long to challenge assumptions.
Rajeev Singh, Managing Director at BenQ India & South Asia, urges professionals to understand the larger organisational objective and involve managers early — defining the problem and offering possibilities rather than arriving with finished proposals.
In hybrid, dispersed teams, employees no longer absorb a manager’s expectations by working alongside them daily — which is why Gaurav Chattur, Co-founder and Managing Director of Catenon Asia Pacific, calls direct conversations about priorities indispensable, warning that alignment cannot be transactional.
The most provocative view comes from Aditya Chellaram, Executive Director at Featherlite Developers, who argues the practice exists because managers historically controlled information, access and approvals. Information has been democratised; approvals haven’t. “The better question is not how to manage upward more effectively,” he says.
“It is how to get people at lateral positions to start taking ownership.” His argument mirrors a wider trend of companies decentralising decisions, wary that long approval chains delay innovation.
Solving problems
HBR studies suggest managers respond far better to ideas framed around shared business outcomes than personal ownership — and the experts agree. Sonica Aron, Founder and Managing Partner of Marching Sheep, believes managers rarely reject ideas because they come from juniors; they struggle with suggestions that arrive half-thought. “Be the person who helps people think more clearly,” she says.
Ravi Agarwal, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Cellecor Gadgets Ltd., wants recommendations grounded in facts and business impact, while Kumar Rajagopalan, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Country Head India at Dexian, prescribes curiosity over certainty, keeping conversations anchored to customer needs.
Trust is earned
If influence is built through preparation, trust is built through consistency. Amy Edmondson’s research on psychological safety shows organisations decide better when people raise concerns before problems become crises — which is why the experts value proactive over persuasive communication.
Chetna Gogia, Chief Human Resource Officer at GoKwik, believes professionals become indispensable when they reduce a manager’s cognitive load instead of adding to it. “Manipulation hides intent; influence makes it visible,” she says. Kellie Tan, Regional Director – Operations & Hospitality at The Executive Centre, sees trust growing through openness and solution-oriented communication rather than agreement for harmony’s sake, while Vivek Pathak, Founder-Director of NIPS Institute of Hotel Management, reduces credibility to eliminating surprises — flagging delays before being asked, and choosing mature dialogue over silence from juniors or ego from seniors. Sana Raees Khan, Founder of SRK Legal and Supreme Court lawyer, adds a governance lens: upward communication must stay rooted in facts and organisational interest, never emotion or personal criticism.
Shared ownership
Leadership scholars have long observed that people commit more deeply to solutions they helped build. Aron’s advice: worry less about ownership, more about contribution — leave every discussion with a stronger solution than the one that entered the room. Rishabh Agrawal, Founder and Director of Toasty Tales Management, sees this daily in live entertainment, where events involving artists, promoters and vendors leave no room for ego-driven proposals.
Even AI hasn’t changed the fundamentals. Sidhi Baweja, Lead-Marketing at AssessPrep, treats it as a preparation partner, not a substitute for judgement. “AI should create efficiency so you can be deeply human with your leadership,” she says.
Ultimately, managing upward is no longer about navigating hierarchy. No leader today has complete visibility, and no organisation can afford good ideas trapped at the bottom. The professionals who stand out won’t be the loudest voices, they’ll be the ones making leadership clearer, collaboration stronger and decisions better.