In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins, Eric Geiger, and Daniel Im discuss what it means to lead up. During their conversation, they answer the following questions.

* What is leading up?

* Does leading up look different for different bosses?

* When should you shut up and not lead up?

* How do you lead up and your boss doesn’t know it?

* What are some best practices for leading up?

BEST QUOTES

“The first rule of leading up is you should never waste your boss’s time.”

“Leading up is communicating to your boss your priorities for the area that you lead and the direction that you are taking.”

“You may thrive under one type of boss, and then become frustrated working for a different type.”

“If I am going to lead effectively, I’m going to submit to my leader by learning how I can best serve them.”

“There are definitely times where you should shut up and not speak up. The key is learning your leader really well.”

“Don’t speak up when you don’t have anything to say but just feel like you have to say something.”

“Leading up is never supposed to be in a way that the boss doesn’t know what you are doing. It is not manipulation.”

“It takes more effort and time to be concise.”

“If you can help your boss succeed, it is all going to take care of itself.”

“Instead of asking what do I need to do to succeed, a leader should be asking what do we need to do to succeed.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Managing the Boss by John Kotter

5LQ Episode 195: Lateral Leadership

Pipeline West: Developing Leaders at Every Level