Two managers trade stories and tactics for managing up—how to spot when it works, when it backfires, and how to propose solutions that win you visibility without fueling Friday fire drills. Along the way, we get honest about ego, boundaries, and using small wins to open bigger doors.

• secret pod hidden on Discord and community update
• abacus mental math and why process beats memorization
• the case for managing up as a core career skill
• when not to manage up in toxic or micromanaged teams
• diagnosing ego, credit-sharing, and trust signals
• bring solutions not problems, with practical scripts
• design intake, dashboards, and friction-free status
• asking for visibility, running meetings, presenting wins
• promotions, psychology, and the role of relationships
• boundaries for late “urgent” requests and Friday chaos
• building team culture with rituals and recognition

Share this podcast with your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, manage up, say, hey, I listened to this episode and I thought you might need a little bit of these skills for yourself

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Elevator Music by Julian Avila
Promoted by MrSnooze

Don't forget ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it helps!

We tackle the controversial claim that "if career growth matters, 100% remote is a trap," exploring whether physical presence in an office truly impacts your ability to advance professionally. Through personal experiences and practical advice, we dissect when remote work might limit opportunities and when it's irrelevant to career progression.

• Remote work may create a ceiling specifically for executive-level advancement, not necessarily for mid-level promotions
• The most crucial factor isn't location but having explicit conversations with managers about growth expectations
• Timing career conversations strategically is essential – approach after successful projects when management is receptive
• Promotions happen when you consistently perform at the next level, not because of time served
• Creating a quantifiable framework for advancement removes the subjectivity from promotion decisions
• Management paths require a different mindset than individual contributor roles – consider carefully before choosing this direction
• Being proactive about creating visibility opportunities can help remote workers overcome some visibility challenges

Join our Discord community for games like "Is it AI?" where we challenge members to distinguish between AI-generated and real images. Share this podcast with friends and colleagues who are navigating remote work career paths.

Click/Tap HERE for everything Corporate Strategy

Elevator Music by Julian Avila
Promoted by MrSnooze

Don't forget ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it helps!

Bruce and Clark explore the growing expectation for workers to carry more weight, delving into the pressures of increased workloads and the impossibility of meeting ever-growing demands. They discuss how businesses expect employees to take on responsibilities outside their expertise while maintaining existing workloads.

• Bruce shares a frustrating experience with video recording where technical issues wasted hours of his time
• The conversation examines how employees are expected to become experts in areas tangential to their primary roles
• Both hosts identify that businesses expect everyone to carry more weight regardless of capacity
• They question whether demands to "do more faster" actually produce better results
• Clark introduces the concept of "spinning plates" and the importance of saying no
• Discussion of three key levers for negotiating workload: time, scope, and resources
• Tips for offering trade-offs rather than outright refusing new responsibilities
• Strategies for communicating capacity limitations and proposing constructive alternatives

Support the show by buying us a coffee, listening to an ad, or sharing the podcast with friends. Join the conversation by visiting our Discord through the link in the show notes.

Click/Tap HERE for everything Corporate Strategy

Elevator Music by Julian Avila
Promoted by MrSnooze

Don't forget ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it helps!