Top 10 'Managing-Up-and-Out' Networking Tips to try for career growth as a new team leader. - Goh Ling Yong
Congratulations on the new team leader role! It’s an exciting, challenging, and incredibly rewarding step in your career. You’ve likely spent the first few weeks laser-focused on your team—learning their strengths, setting expectations, and building rapport. This is crucial, but it's only one-third of the leadership equation. Most new leaders master "managing down" but neglect the two other critical dimensions: "managing up" and "managing out."
"Managing up" is about cultivating a strong, productive relationship with your direct manager. It’s not about being a sycophant; it's about understanding their goals, communicating effectively, and making their job easier, which in turn empowers you and your team. "Managing out," on the other hand, is about building bridges with peers, other department heads, and key stakeholders across the organization. It’s about creating a network of allies who can provide support, resources, and crucial information.
Mastering this 360-degree approach is the secret sauce that separates good leaders from great ones. It ensures your team’s hard work gets the visibility it deserves, removes roadblocks before they become mountains, and accelerates your own career growth. Ready to expand your influence beyond your immediate team? Here are the top 10 ‘managing-up-and-out’ networking tips to put into practice today.
1. Master the Art of the Proactive Update
One of the fastest ways to build trust with your manager is to adopt a "no surprises" policy. Don't wait for them to ask you for a status update on a key project. Get ahead of it by providing concise, regular, and proactive updates. This shows you are in control, respect their time, and understand what information they need to do their job effectively.
A great proactive update isn’t just a list of tasks your team completed. It should be structured to provide maximum insight with minimum effort for your manager. Frame it around progress against goals, highlight any potential risks or roadblocks you foresee, and briefly mention what you’re doing to mitigate them. This positions you not just as a manager of tasks, but as a strategic owner of your domain.
Pro-Tip: Create a simple weekly email template. Use bullet points for clarity.
- Last Week's Wins: 1-2 key accomplishments.
- This Week's Focus: Top 3 priorities.
- Potential Blockers: Any challenges you see, with your proposed solutions.
- Where I Need Your Support: A specific, actionable request, if any.
2. Decode Your Manager's Priorities (and M.O.)
Your team's goals are important, but they exist within a larger context: your manager's goals. Your ability to align your team's work with their top priorities is a superpower. If you don't know what keeps your manager up at night or what defines a "win" for them this quarter, your first task is to find out.
Schedule time to specifically discuss their objectives and how your team's work contributes. Ask questions like, "What's the most important outcome our department needs to deliver this half?" or "How do you prefer to receive information—in-depth reports or high-level summaries?" Understanding their preferred mode of operation (M.O.) and key priorities allows you to tailor your communication and efforts for maximum impact, making you an indispensable partner to them.
3. Become a Cross-Functional Connector
Your new role is a fantastic opportunity to break out of your functional silo. Your influence and effectiveness as a leader will grow in direct proportion to the strength of your relationships with peers in other departments. These are the people whose collaboration you'll need to launch a new feature, run a marketing campaign, or solve a complex customer issue.
Make it a goal to meet one peer leader from another department each week for a virtual coffee or a brief 15-minute introductory call. Don't go in with an agenda or an "ask." The goal is simply to learn. Ask them about their team's priorities, their biggest challenges, and how your teams' work might intersect. These informal chats build goodwill and create a foundation of trust that will be invaluable when you actually need to work together on a high-stakes project.
4. Translate Your Team's Work into Business Impact
Your team might be closing support tickets, writing lines of code, or designing graphics. Those are activities. Senior leaders, including your manager's boss, think in terms of outcomes and business impact. A critical "managing up" skill is learning to translate your team's day-to-day work into the language of business.
Instead of saying, "My team deployed five new software updates," try framing it as, "My team's recent deployments improved application performance by 10%, which we project will reduce customer churn by 2% this quarter." This demonstrates that you understand the bigger picture and can connect your team's efforts directly to key business metrics like revenue, customer satisfaction, or efficiency.
Example:
- Before (Activity-focused): "We completed the user research for the new dashboard."
- After (Impact-focused): "Our user research uncovered three key pain points. By addressing these in the new dashboard design, we anticipate a 20% increase in user engagement."
5. Actively Seek Feedback (and Gracefully Act on It)
Asking for feedback is a sign of strength, not weakness. It shows you're committed to growth and value others' perspectives. Don't just wait for your formal performance review. Make it a regular practice to solicit feedback from your manager and a few trusted cross-functional peers. The key is to be specific in your request.
Avoid vague questions like, "Do you have any feedback for me?" Instead, ask targeted questions that are easier to answer. For your manager, you could ask, "What is one thing I could start doing in our 1:1s to make them more effective for you?" For a peer, try, "From your perspective, how could my team improve our handoff process with your department?" Remember to listen without getting defensive, thank them for their candor, and—most importantly—visibly act on the advice you receive.
6. Offer Solutions, Not Just Problems
New leaders sometimes fall into the trap of using their manager as a catch-all for every problem they encounter. While you should absolutely escalate critical issues, your goal should be to present problems alongside potential solutions. This demonstrates initiative, critical thinking, and respect for your manager's time.
When you face a roadblock, take a moment to think through it. What are the possible causes? What are 2-3 potential paths forward? What are the pros and cons of each? When you approach your manager, you can then say, "Here's the situation. I've considered options A and B. My recommendation is A because of [reason], but I wanted to get your thoughts before proceeding." This transforms you from someone who simply reports issues into a strategic problem-solver.
7. Create a Simple Stakeholder Map
"Managing out" can feel overwhelming. Who should you talk to? When? A stakeholder map brings strategic clarity to this process. It doesn't need to be complicated. Just grab a notebook or open a simple spreadsheet. List the key people and teams whose work impacts yours, or who are impacted by your team's work.
For each stakeholder, jot down a few notes: What are their goals? How important are they to your team's success? What is the current state of your relationship (strong, neutral, needs work)? As Goh Ling Yong often advises in his coaching, this simple exercise helps you move from reactive to proactive networking. You can then create a simple engagement plan, like setting up a quarterly check-in with the head of Sales or ensuring the Product lead is always included in your team's demos.
8. Leverage Your Network for Your Team
Your network isn't just for your own career advancement; it's a powerful tool to help your team succeed. A strong "up and out" network allows you to be a more effective servant leader. You can use your connections to remove obstacles, secure resources, and create opportunities for your direct reports.
Is your team struggling to get budget for a new software tool? Your good relationship with the finance partner might help you make a more compelling business case. Does a talented engineer on your team deserve more recognition? Your connection with a senior director in another division could help you nominate them for a cross-company award. When your team sees you using your influence to advocate for them, it builds immense loyalty and trust.
9. Master the Art of the "Gentle Nudge"
In a cross-functional role, you often need things from people you have no direct authority over. This is where the art of the follow-up, or the "gentle nudge," becomes a critical skill. The goal is to be persistent without being a pest. The key is to frame your follow-ups around shared goals and make it easy for the other person to respond.
Instead of an email that just says, "Just following up on this," provide context and make the next step clear. For example: "Hi [Name], just gently circling back on the data request for Project X. Our deadline is this Friday, and getting that data by EOD Wednesday will ensure we stay on track for our shared launch goal. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help on my end." This is a principle Goh Ling Yong calls "leading through influence," and it's essential for getting things done across an organization.
10. Build Your Profile Beyond the Company Walls
Truly effective "managing out" extends beyond the walls of your organization. Engaging with your professional community—whether on LinkedIn, at industry meetups, or in online forums—is a long-term investment in your career and your effectiveness as a leader. It allows you to learn best practices from others, understand industry trends, and build a reputation as an expert in your field.
Start small. Share a thoughtful comment on an industry leader's post on LinkedIn. Write a short blog post about a challenge your team recently solved. Attend a local or virtual meetup for professionals in your role. This not only builds your personal brand but also brings valuable external perspectives back to your team and company, making you an even greater asset to the organization.
Your Leadership Journey is a 360-Degree Effort
Transitioning into a leadership role is a profound shift. Your success is no longer just about your individual contributions; it’s about enabling your team, aligning with your leaders, and collaborating effectively across the entire organization. By intentionally focusing on managing up and out, you’re not just managing your career—you’re creating an environment where your team can do its best work.
Don't feel like you need to implement all ten of these tips overnight. Pick one or two that resonate most with you and start there. The key is to be consistent. These are not one-off tasks; they are habits that, over time, will build your reputation as a highly effective and influential leader.
Now it's your turn. Which of these tips do you plan to try first? Do you have another "managing up" or "managing out" strategy that has worked for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
Stay updated with the latest posts and insights by following on your favorite platform!