When the Request Comes From Above: Managing Up Without Fear

Managing up without fear: how to manage your boss and handle requests from senior leaders A practical, research-backed guide to communicating with your manager, setting boundaries at work, and pushing back professionally Learn how to protect your priorities, say no at work strategically, and manage expectations at work without damaging relationships

What You'll Learn:

• Use a simple three-step framework (Acknowledge & Align → Explain Constraints → Offer a Path Forward) to manage up in everyday conversations
• Translate your limits (time, people, budget, cognitive bandwidth) into strategic language senior leaders respect and understand
• Push back professionally on new requests from above without sounding negative, resistant, or like you’re not a team player
• Set clearer boundaries at work by framing trade-offs and prioritization as business decisions—not personal preferences
• Recognize common workplace power dynamics that trigger anxiety and over-commitment, and learn how to pause before agreeing
• Practice specific phrases for saying no at work and managing expectations at work while preserving trust and credibility
• Create a simple prioritization script you can reuse when multiple senior leaders ask for “urgent” work at the same time
• Identify one real situation you’re facing now, write down key points from the episode, and take one small action this week to apply what you learned