Managing Up: Making Your Boss Look Good While Advancing Your Career

My boss walked into a CEO update meeting unprepared. She didn't know the latest competitive win rates. She couldn't answer questions about launch pipeline contribution. She fumbled through questions about PMM's strategic priorities.

I watched from the back of the room as the CEO's confidence in her—and by extension, in PMM—visibly eroded.

The worst part? I had all that information. Win rates were up 12% after our competitive program. Launches had generated $8M in pipeline last quarter. We had clear strategic priorities for Q4. If she'd asked me to prep her, I could have made her look brilliant.

But she didn't ask. And I didn't offer. I assumed managing up meant "do good work and keep my boss informed." I was wrong.

Most PMMs think managing up is about status updates and 1:1s. It's not. Managing up is about making your boss successful in the moments that matter most—executive meetings, board updates, budget discussions, cross-functional conflicts.

When your boss succeeds, you get more resources, more autonomy, and more career opportunities. When your boss fails, you're stuck fighting for headcount, defending PMM value, and watching your career stall.

I learned this the hard way after watching my boss fumble that CEO meeting. The next quarter, I started managing up deliberately. Within six months, she was citing PMM wins in every exec meeting, fighting for our headcount, and nominating me for promotion.

The difference wasn't my work quality. It was that I'd made her success my responsibility.

Why Most PMMs Fail at Managing Up

Here's the mistake I made for years: I thought my job was to do good work and report results. My boss's job was to make sure leadership knew about that good work.

Wrong. Your boss has dozens of priorities. Making sure you get credit for your work is not one of them.

They're thinking about:

• Their own performance review and career
• Budget battles and headcount justification
• Strategic initiatives they're accountable for
• Cross-functional conflicts they're mediating
• Executive requests they're responding to

Your competitive win rates improving by 12%? That's great, but it's one data point among hundreds they're tracking.

If you want your boss to advocate for you—in promotion discussions, budget meetings, or strategic planning—you have to make it easy for them to do so. That means giving them the information, context, and wins they need, packaged in a way they can use immediately.

The Three Moments That Define Your Boss's Success

Most PMMs try to manage up by sending regular updates. That's necessary but not sufficient.

The real opportunity is in the high-stakes moments where your boss's credibility is on the line:

Moment 1: Executive meetings where your boss represents PMM

Your boss is in a leadership team meeting. The CEO asks: "How's product marketing contributing to the business?"

Your boss can either:

• Stumble through a vague answer about "launches and enablement"
• Confidently cite specific metrics: "PMM drove $8M in launch pipeline and improved competitive win rates 12% through our new battle card program"

Which version makes your boss look like a strong leader? Which version makes PMM look valuable?

If you're not proactively giving your boss those talking points before every exec meeting, you're missing the biggest opportunity to manage up.

Moment 2: Budget season when your boss fights for PMM headcount

The CFO is cutting budgets. Your boss needs to defend PMM headcount.

Your boss can either:

• Argue that PMM is "important" and "strategic" (gets headcount cut)
• Present an ROI analysis: "PMM's competitive program drove $4M in additional revenue. Scaling it requires one more headcount. Cost is $150K, return is $4M+. ROI is 27x." (gets headcount approved)

If you haven't built that business case for your boss, they can't defend your team.

Moment 3: Performance review time when your boss advocates for you

Your boss is in calibration meetings deciding promotions and raises.

Your boss can either:

• Say "they're doing a good job" (you get a standard raise)
• Say "they drove 15% improvement in win rates, generated $8M in launch pipeline, and built the competitive program from scratch. Here's the data." (you get promoted)

If you haven't documented your wins and given your boss the promotion narrative, they can't fight for you even if they want to.

The Managing Up Tactics That Actually Work

Here's how I manage up now, and how it changed my relationship with every boss I've had since:

Tactic 1: Pre-brief your boss before high-stakes meetings

Before any executive meeting where PMM might come up, I send my boss a one-pager with:

What's going well:

• Competitive win rate is 52% (up from 40% last quarter)
• Last three launches generated $8.2M in pipeline
• Sales enablement completion rate is 85% (target was 80%)

What's concerning:

• Enterprise sales cycle is 20% longer than target (investigating why)
• One competitor is gaining share in our core segment (building response strategy)

If asked about [X], here's what to say:

• Question: "What's PMM doing about Competitor X?"
• Answer: "We've analyzed 20 lost deals to Competitor X. The pattern is [Y]. We're building a competitive playbook that launches next month. Early testing shows it improves our win rate by 15%."

This takes me 20 minutes to create. It makes my boss look informed, prepared, and strategic in exec meetings.

And when the CEO asks about Competitor X, my boss cites my analysis and looks brilliant. Later, the CEO asks: "Who did that competitive analysis?" My boss says my name. That's visibility I couldn't get any other way.

Tactic 2: Frame your wins in terms of your boss's goals

My boss is measured on:

• Revenue contribution from marketing
• Sales effectiveness (win rates, sales cycle length)
• Product adoption (how well launches perform)

Every time I report results, I frame them in terms of those metrics:

Bad update: "We launched Product X and Sales is trained."

Good update: "Product X launch generated $2.1M pipeline (contributing to your revenue goal). Sales training completion was 90%, and reps using the new materials are closing deals 15% faster (improving sales effectiveness metric you're tracking)."

Same work, different framing. One helps my boss hit their goals. The other is just a task update.

When my boss's performance review comes up, they don't have to translate PMM work into their metrics. I've already done that for them.

Tactic 3: Identify problems before your boss does

The bosses who trusted me most were the ones where I flagged problems before they became crisis.

Bad managing up: Wait for your boss to discover launch pipeline is behind target, then scramble to explain why.

Good managing up: Two weeks before quarterly results are due, message your boss: "Heads up: Launch pipeline is tracking 20% below target. I've analyzed why—two launches slipped from Q3 to Q4. Q4 pipeline is tracking 40% ahead to compensate. Net impact for the year is still on target. Want me to prep talking points for the QBR?"

Now your boss isn't surprised in the QBR. They can proactively address it. They look on top of it.

I make it a habit to flag potential concerns before they surface in meetings:

• "Heads up: competitor just launched feature X. Might come up in exec meeting. Here's how we're positioned against it."
• "FYI: Sales just mentioned a prospect asking about pricing. Might signal broader pricing confusion. I'm investigating."
• "Awareness: our last two launches underperformed pipeline targets. Analyzing why. Will have recommendations by Friday."

Your boss never wants to be blindsided. Give them early warning and you become their most trusted advisor.

Tactic 4: Make asks easy to say yes to

Most PMMs make vague asks of their boss: "Can you help get Sales aligned on messaging?" What does "help" mean? What specifically should they do?

Now I make asks specific and easy:

Bad ask: "Can you help get Product to prioritize the competitive features Sales needs?"

Good ask: "Product and Sales disagree on competitive feature priorities. Can you join a 30-minute alignment meeting on Thursday where we'll decide the top 3 to prioritize? I've prepared the options and trade-offs—you just need to help make the call."

Your boss now knows:

• Exactly what you need (30 minutes Thursday)
• What they'll be deciding (top 3 priorities)
• What prep you've done (options and trade-offs ready)

That's an easy yes. Vague "can you help" requests are easy to defer.

Tactic 5: Protect your boss's time and attention

Your boss is drowning in meetings, emails, and Slack messages. Every time you interrupt them, you're competing with a hundred other priorities.

I make it a rule:

• Only escalate what truly requires their authority or input
• Bundle small questions into one weekly update instead of constant Slack messages
• Solve problems independently whenever possible, inform them afterward

Bad: "Should we position this feature as enterprise-only or broad market?" (interrupts their day for a decision you could make)

Good: Make the decision, inform them: "I positioned the new feature as enterprise-only because customer research showed SMB doesn't need it and enterprise requested it specifically. If you disagree, I can adjust before launch."

You've made the decision, done the work, and given them a chance to override. Most of the time, they'll just approve. You've saved them time and demonstrated judgment.

When I do need their input, I make it easy:

• "Need 15 min this week to align on Q4 priorities. Does Thursday at 2pm work?"
• "Quick decision needed: Option A (lower risk, medium impact) or Option B (higher risk, higher impact)? My recommendation is A because [reason]. Want to discuss or should I proceed?"

Frame decisions clearly, provide recommendation, ask for quick input.

What to Do When Your Boss Is Hard to Manage Up To

Sometimes managing up doesn't work because your boss:

• Doesn't value PMM and won't advocate for it
• Is disorganized and can't absorb the information you give them
• Takes credit for your work without acknowledging you
• Is focused on their own career and doesn't invest in yours

If you've tried managing up deliberately for six months and your boss still isn't advocating for you, you have three options:

Option 1: Find another sponsor in the organization

If your boss won't champion you, find an executive who will. The CRO who loves your competitive work. The VP Product who values your customer insights. The CMO who appreciates your launch coordination.

Build a relationship with them. Make them successful. When promotion time comes, they can advocate for you even if your direct boss doesn't.

Option 2: Make your work visible without going around your boss

Find ways to make your impact visible to leadership without undermining your boss:

• Present at all-hands on competitive wins
• Write updates in company Slack channels
• Contribute to board deck preparation
• Participate in cross-functional planning

Your boss can't hide your impact if it's visible across the organization.

Option 3: Leave for a boss who will invest in you

Some bosses will never advocate for you no matter what. If your boss actively takes credit for your work, doesn't fight for your headcount, and won't support your career growth, don't waste years trying to change them.

I stayed too long with a boss who took credit for everything I did. My career stalled for two years. When I moved to a company with a boss who actively championed me, I was promoted within 18 months.

Your boss has enormous impact on your career trajectory. Choose wisely.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Managing Up

Most PMMs think managing up is manipulative. They think: "If I'm doing good work, my boss should recognize it without me having to manage them."

That's naive.

Your boss has a hundred priorities. Your career is one of them, but it's not their top priority. Their career is their top priority.

If you want your boss to advocate for you, you have to make it easy and beneficial for them to do so:

• Make them look good in exec meetings (benefits them)
• Help them hit their goals (benefits them)
• Flag problems before they become embarrassments (protects them)
• Provide data that makes their job easier (helps them)

When you make your boss successful, they have incentive to invest in your success.

That's not manipulation. It's understanding organizational dynamics.

The PMMs who get promoted aren't necessarily the ones doing the best work. They're the ones whose bosses fight for them in promotion discussions. And bosses fight for the people who make them look good.

The best career investment you can make is making your boss successful in the moments that matter.

Pre-brief them before exec meetings. Frame your wins in terms of their goals. Flag problems early. Make asks easy to say yes to. Protect their time.

Do that consistently for six months and watch how differently your boss advocates for you.

Or don't. Keep doing good work and hoping your boss notices. Wonder why other people get promoted past you.

Your choice.

Managing up isn't about being a sycophant. It's about being strategic. The PMMs who do it well don't sacrifice their integrity—they just make sure their boss has everything they need to champion PMM and advocate for their career.

Start managing up deliberately. Your career will thank you.