Melody Wilding: Managing your boss skilfully

Does your boss value everything you do? They should see it, get it, and tell us they appreciate it. But they don’t.

Managing upwards could be the solution you need. It will help you perform at your best, and importantly, progress your career.

My guest in this episode Melody Wilding, author of Managing Up, shares her research and experience on how to do this skilfully. She emphasises the need for employees to align with their bosses, understand different management styles, and communicate effectively.

Melody gives insights into how you can convey information deftly, and navigate difficult conversations, such as how to get that raise that you’re after. This episode is packed full of tips about situations you’ll find yourself in every day. So get ready to take notes.

You’ll hear about:

• How to use your emotions as catalysts for growth
• Why managing upwards is essential for career progression
• How understanding your boss’s priorities can enhance your work alignment
• Building a support network is crucial for effective upward management
• The best ways to handle compensation discussions

More about Melody

Melody Wilding is the bestselling author of Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work and Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge (March 2025).

As an award-winning executive coach, for more than a decade she’s helped top performers at the world’s most successful companies — including Google, JP Morgan, and Verizon — to find their professional power position, the sweet spot where confidence and influence meet.

Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and dozens of other respected publications. She’s a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and MSNBC.

• Melody’s book Managing Up
• Scripts for saying ‘no’ at work