Managing Up

Course overview

Ever love what you do but hate where you work because you have a toxic boss? Managing up is a technique/component of Followership Theory, which indicates that the leader-subordinate dynamic is not the sole responsibility of the leader. Kelley (1992) stated that 5 types of followers exist: exemplary, conformist, passive, alienated, and pragmatist. Effective followers proactively engage in duties and contribute in a meaningful way. Poor leaders can destroy good followers just as easily as poor followers destroy poor leaders. When a good follower has a poor or new leader, they can use managing up to improve the relationship and help the leader grow. It improves the work-life balance for everyone by building/maintaining the relationship between supervisor-subordinate when it is not exploited.