Managing Up: Keeping Senior Leadership Informed and Aligned

Managing a project well does not just mean coordinating your team, it also means keeping senior leadership engaged, informed, and aligned. Project leaders who manage up effectively increase their project’s chances of success by ensuring executives have the information they need to support decisions, remove roadblocks, and champion the initiative.

Managing up is not about constant reporting, it is about communicating the right information at the right time to strengthen trust and visibility.

Why Managing Up Matters

Senior leaders have multiple priorities pulling at them. Without regular, clear updates, your project can lose visibility or slip off their radar.

Effective managing up ensures:

• Leaders stay aware of project progress, risks, and needs
• Decision-making is faster because leaders are not caught off-guard
• The project remains connected to business goals and changing priorities

Strong managing up practices create project resilience, even in shifting business environments.

How to Manage Up Effectively

1. Know What Matters to Leadership

Tailor your updates to focus on what executives care about most, business impact, timelines, budgets, risks, and major milestones.

Do not just share activities, share outcomes. Connect your project’s progress to the organization’s broader strategic goals.

2. Provide Structured, Concise Updates

Leaders are short on time. Deliver updates that are clear, high-level, and structured around key questions:

• What progress has been made?
• What risks or issues exist?
• What decisions or support are needed?

Stick to the essentials and be prepared to dive deeper only if asked.

3. Surface Issues Early

Leadership does not like surprises. If a risk is emerging or a timeline is shifting, communicate it early with context and potential options.

Position issues alongside proposed solutions when possible. It shows ownership, not just escalation.

4. Align Expectations Frequently

Priorities and business goals can shift. Regularly check back with leadership to ensure your project goals and outcomes are still aligned with what matters most to the organization.

Frequent alignment prevents teams from working hard in the wrong direction.

Common Mistakes When Managing Up

• Providing too much detail and losing leadership’s attention
• Waiting until a problem explodes to raise concerns
• Overloading executives with minor updates instead of highlighting key decisions needed
• Assuming leadership knows the project’s strategic connection without reinforcing it

Managing up is not just about frequency, it is about relevance and clarity.

Key Takeaways

• Managing up keeps senior leadership engaged, informed, and aligned with project goals
• Tailor communication to focus on outcomes, risks, and needs
• Surface issues early, alongside solutions
• Regularly re-align the project to evolving business priorities

Conclusion

Managing up is a leadership skill every project manager must master. By keeping senior leadership informed, focused on outcomes, and connected to the project’s impact, you increase support, strengthen decision-making, and boost project success.

At The Soomitz Group, our practical workshops focus on project management techniques that operational teams can use to deliver on their critical initiatives.

Contact us today to learn how we can help your teams strengthen communication and leadership practices across all project levels.

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