manage up

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

To calculate one's interactions with someone above oneself in a hierarchy (often one's own manager) so as to try to guide them into choosing a certain option (narrow scope) or to guide them into doing a better job at their leadership of their subordinates (broader scope).

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

tính toán tương tác với người đứng đầu để hướng dẫn họ chọn lựa

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

She felt compelled to manage up because her boss seemed to be missing the significance of the risk.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “manage up” mean?

To calculate one's interactions with someone above oneself in a hierarchy (often one's own manager) so as to try to guide them into choosing a certain option (narrow scope) or to guide them into doing a better job at their leadership of their subordinates (broader scope).

Is “manage up” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.