managing up | working with executives | influence without authority | chief of staff | executive communication | trust
What You Will Learn:
- Understand what the person above you actually spends their week deciding
- Write a brief an executive reads in two minutes and acts on
- Get agreement from senior people without any formal authority over them
- Read the informal power structure in a company and work with it
- Present a proposal in the language decisions are made in: numbers
- Manage upward deliberately, including how much detail to send and when
- Support a leader through a crisis, and know what to filter and what to escalate
- Communicate a decision so it survives being retold by three other people
- Learn alongside Mike’s 1.6 million students from 185 countries
- Get the author’s experience from Preply, Wargaming, iDeals and Alfa-Bank
Course Review: Managing Up: How to Work With Executives and Leaders [EN]
As someone who’s navigated the choppy waters of tech leadership for a good decade, I’ve learned that your success often hinges less on your own technical prowess and more on your ability to effectively collaborate with those above you. This course, ‘Managing Up: How to Work With Executives and Leaders’, promised to tackle that very challenge. And let me tell you, after diving in, it delivers a hefty dose of practical wisdom, far beyond the usual buzzwords.
Overview
This isn’t your typical “soft skills” fluff. The core of this course is about **strategic influence without formal authority**. It dives deep into understanding the executive mindset – what actually occupies their limited bandwidth, and how to frame your contributions in a way that resonates with their priorities. The emphasis on understanding the informal power structures within an organization is a game-changer. It’s about learning to read the room at the highest levels, identify key stakeholders, and navigate political landscapes with finesse. The lessons on crafting concise, data-driven proposals designed for executive consumption are particularly strong. This course equips you to present information in the language of **ROI and bottom-line impact**, a crucial skill for anyone aiming for career growth in demanding environments. It also tackles the often-overlooked art of supporting a leader during a crisis, teaching you what to filter and what to escalate – an absolute must-have for **chief of staff** roles or anyone aspiring to be an indispensable right-hand person.
Prerequisites
Honestly, you don’t need a specific technical background for this. The course is designed for professionals at all levels who interact with leadership. However, having some experience in a corporate or organizational setting will definitely help you contextualize the scenarios and apply the learnings more readily. If you’re looking to transition into roles that require higher-level strategic communication, a foundational understanding of business objectives would be beneficial, but not strictly required to get started with the course’s core concepts.
Skills & Tools
The **job-ready skills** you’ll acquire are immense. You’ll hone your ability to synthesize complex information into **brief executive summaries**, craft persuasive proposals using **data visualization and financial metrics**, and develop sophisticated **executive communication** strategies. While no specific **industry-standard tools** are mandated for learning, the principles taught are universally applicable to tools like presentation software, data analysis platforms, and project management suites. The course effectively teaches you how to *use* these tools to support your upward management efforts.
Career Benefits & Job Roles
The benefits for **career growth** are undeniable. This course is a goldmine for anyone aiming for leadership positions or roles that demand high-level stakeholder management. It’s particularly relevant for those aspiring to be a **chief of staff**, executive assistant, project manager, product manager, or any role that requires navigating complex organizational dynamics and influencing decision-making without direct oversight. The ability to build **trust** and demonstrate value to senior leadership can significantly accelerate your career trajectory. The course is structured in a way that builds foundational understanding for **beginner to advanced** professionals looking to refine their executive interaction skills.
Pros
- Actionable, Real-World Strategies: This isn’t theoretical. The course provides concrete frameworks and practical tips that you can implement immediately to improve your working relationships with executives.
- Focus on Influence, Not Just Reporting: It empowers you to move beyond simply providing updates to actively shaping decisions and driving initiatives, even without formal authority.
- Comprehensive Executive Communication Mastery: From understanding their weekly priorities to ensuring your message survives being retold, the course covers the entire spectrum of effective communication with leadership.
- Global Learning Community: Learning alongside over 1.6 million students from 185 countries offers a broad perspective and diverse insights into executive management across different cultures and industries.
Cons
- Requires Active Application: While the content is excellent, its effectiveness is entirely dependent on your willingness to actively apply the principles and experiment with the strategies in your daily work. This isn’t a passive learning experience; it demands engagement and practice, much like mastering a new technical skill through hands-on labs or real-world projects.