Harvard Business Review 20-Minute Manager Ultimate Boxed Set (16 Books)

Communicating with Your Manager

Effective communication takes a deft touch when you’re managing up. If your attempts to persuade are too obvious, they may not succeed. Yet you need to be deliberate in your approach. This chapter helps you walk that fine line.

How to listen and observe

As you engage with your boss in everyday activities, try to identify the messages behind her speech and behavior. The words and deeds matter, of course, but the values that underlie them often mean more. Listening with a keen ear and observing with a sharp eye can make all the difference in understanding, not just labeling, your manager’s communication style.

Consider the statement “My door is always open,” which many bosses make to their direct reports. That seemingly ...