Managing up and managing down is studied as part of management studies as how a middle manager should effectively deal with his or her manager and with his or her subordinates. Additionally, managing up on its own may be a useful skill for a subordinate who in turn does not manage anyone. It is generally considered to be distinct from "sucking up" or "kissing up" to the manager and "kicking down" to subordinates as it involves benign and straightforward influencing rather than underhand manipulation.
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Managing up
Johnson claims that you can manage up without sucking up by:
According to Badowski, good managing up requires going above and beyond the tasks assigned to you so that you can enhance your manager's work. Doing what you can to make your manager's job easier will not only help them do their job, but you will be considered a valuable asset to your manager and to your organization. You want to be described as indispensable.
Influencing up
Bradford introduces the idea of influencing up where it may be possible for a subordinate without authority to influence those with authority.
Managing down
It is claimed that good managing down requires the following attributes: