The Hardest Problems Aren’t Technical Anymore

Managing up, down, and across is how you build momentum and multiply impact

You’re technically excellent. That’s not in question.

You’ve built trust. Delivered under pressure. Navigated complexity that others wouldn’t touch.

But I want you to pause here quietly and honestly ask yourself:
Am I still solving the right problems?

Because at your level, technical work is no longer the bottleneck. If you’re still measuring your impact by what you personally ship, you’re likely missing the larger opportunity and the reason your week feels heavier than it should.

What’s holding you back isn’t your output.
It’s friction. Misalignment. Decision gaps. Expectations that live in people’s heads and never get named out loud.

This is the moment most high-performing engineers hit without much training for.
Learning to manage up, down, and across. Deliberately and skillfully.

Let’s work through it together:

Managing Up

Your manager isn’t an obstacle; they’re a crucial part of your interface with the company.

Ever thought, "I shouldn't have to manage my manager?" You're not alone. But the reality is, if you don't actively manage upward, your priorities might drift, your valuable contributions could go unnoticed, and your support may become inconsistent. Managing up isn’t about politics. It’s about clarity, alignment, and helping your manager support you effectively.

Why Managing Up Matters

Think of managing up as helping your manager perform better so that you can excel in your own role. It’s not extra work; it’s your path to greater impact, clearer goals, and smoother progress. By proactively giving your manager the right information and support, you align your efforts with organizational priorities.

Here's how you can effectively manage upward:

1. Clarify Priorities Before Diving In

Always make sure you’re aligned with your manager about what's the most important. Rather than guessing or assuming, simply ask:

"What are your top three priorities this month, and where should I focus to best support them?"

Explicitly asking removes uncertainty, ensuring your daily tasks and strategic efforts directly connect with your manager’s top goals and the organization's priorities.

2. Bring Solutions, Not Just Problems

Managers prefer to make decisions rather than solve every issue that arises. Simplify their job by clearly outlining available options and recommending a preferred solution.

Avoid escalating vague problems like:

"The rollout failed. What do we do?"

Instead, provide clear, actionable options:

"The rollout failed due to an environment mismatch. We can either rollback or implement a hotfix. I recommend a rollback to ensure stability. Do you agree?"

This positions you as a reliable team member who understands the broader implications and can handle responsibilities independently.

3. Use Structured Updates, Not Information Dumps

Managers don't need every detail of your day. They need targeted, relevant updates. Clearly structured updates help your manager quickly grasp what matters most and identify where they need to intervene.

Use a straightforward format:

✅ Progress: Highlight clearly what's advancing or successfully completed.
⚠️ Risks: Clearly state potential issues or delays to prevent surprises.
🔄 Decisions Needed: Clearly communicate any blockers or where you need their input

This approach ensures clarity, prevents overwhelming them and keeps conversations productive.

Regularly Check Your Approach

Periodically evaluate how well you’re managing upward by asking yourself:

1. Am I addressing issues that genuinely matter to my manager?

2. Does my manager clearly understand my priorities and work progress?

3. Does my manager trust me to proactively identify critical issues?

If you answer "no" to any of these, it’s time to adjust your approach. Aligning with your manager's expectations isn’t about extra tasks; it’s about ensuring you're focused on the right tasks.

Managing Up is Empowering

Managing up turns your relationship with your manager from one of dependency into a strong partnership. It helps both you and your manager work smarter, faster, and more confidently. Instead of seeing your manager as an obstacle, view them as your ally and advocate. When you provide them with what they need, they'll become more effective at supporting you in return.

Remember, managing up isn't extra work; it’s essential. It's how you secure the right priorities, visibility, and ultimately, the right outcomes.

Managing Down

You’re not your teammates' safety net; you’re their amplifier.

If your peers frequently rely on you to double-check their work, answer every question, or resolve last-minute issues, you're unknowingly slowing them down rather than enabling them to excel.

Managing down isn't about asserting control. It's about providing clarity, coaching, and creating an environment that empowers your teammates to succeed independently, even without the title.

Why Managing Down Matters

Effectively managing down empowers everyone around you. It transforms your role from a bottleneck into a catalyst, allowing teammates to reach their full potential. Done well, your colleagues become more confident, capable, and productive.

Here's how you can practice effective managing down:

1. Clearly Define Ownership

Before collaborating or delegating responsibilities, always clarify the context, outcomes, and autonomy.

Clearly explain:

• Why: Provide context behind tasks.

• What: Define the expected outcome clearly.

• How Much: Specify the level of independence your teammate has.

Example:

"You’ll take the lead on optimizing the API for faster response times. The goal is to cut latency by at least 20%. You own all implementation decisions, I’ll be happy to review the RFC, code and then the final solution."

Defined ownership builds accountability and confidence

2. Coach Instead of Jumping In

When a teammate hits an obstacle, resist immediately stepping in. Instead, encourage independent problem-solving through questions:

• "What approaches have you already tried?"

• "What’s currently blocking you?"

• "What's your next step?"

This approach strengthens your teammates' abilities and confidence without creating reliance on your direct intervention.

3. Establish Clear Feedback Loops

Avoid relying solely on casual conversations or unclear checkpoints. Set structured, consistent reviews to monitor:

• Progress

• Quality

• Alignment with project goals

Give prompt and clear feedback. Recognize strong contributions quickly and clearly communicate when adjustments are necessary. Quick feedback ensures alignment and prevents misunderstandings.

I usually encourage the more senior engineers in my team to setup 1:1s or weekly syncs for the projects they lead.

Regularly Check Your Approach

Ask yourself:

• Do you redo your teammates’ work after they finish?

• Are you frequently pulled into minor details?

• Do your teammates need your input to define what success looks like?

If you answered yes to any of these, it’s time to adjust your approach.
Shift from being a fallback to becoming a force multiplier.

Become a Force Multiplier

Effectively managing down transforms your role from a safety net into an amplifier. Instead of continuous intervention, your focus becomes facilitating growth, clarity, and autonomy. Aim to create a team environment built on clear expectations, meaningful independence, and proactive coaching.

Being a force multiplier means your impact goes beyond your individual output. You help elevate the performance of everyone around you. Companies value force multipliers because they create leverage: one strong engineer can raise the bar for a whole team.

Remember, your goal isn't controlling every detail. It's empowering your team to excel independently and confidently (and this also sometimes means letting them fail to learn)

Managing Across

Most friction between teams isn't personal. It usually comes from unclear expectations or misaligned communication styles.

Alignment rarely breaks down because someone is intentionally difficult. More often, it's because ownership wasn't clearly defined or communicated effectively. Without clarity, teams rely on assumptions, deadlines then slip, and everyone just ends up frustrated.

Effective management across teams requires adapting your communication style, clearly defining roles, and proactively removing blockers for your teammates.

Communicate technical topics clearly

When managing across teams, technical details can easily become barriers instead of bridges. Whether you're speaking to product managers, marketing, executives, or designers your ability to simplify complex ideas is essential. Don't shy away from non-technical stakeholders. Embrace the opportunity to explain technical concepts clearly.

Remember:

• Adapt your language to fit the audience.

• Avoid jargon unless you're certain everyone understands it.

• Keep explanations straightforward and outcome-focused.

I've seen engineers become frustrated by repeated explanations or misunderstandings. Clear, non-technical communication ultimately empowers everyone, enabling better decisions and smoother collaboration.

Clearly Define Roles and Responsibilities

Frameworks like RACI (stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted & Informed) helps clarify responsibilities upfront, but they shouldn't dominate your conversations. Use them when helpful, focusing primarily on clarity and alignment.

When defining roles at the start of a project, be specific about:

• Who is doing the work: Clearly name who is executing tasks.

• Who owns decisions: Explicitly identify the individual or group accountable for final outcomes.

• Who provides valuable input: Identify stakeholders who should weigh in before decisions are finalized.

• Who needs regular updates: Clarify who should be kept informed but doesn't directly influence decisions.

For example, a more realistic scenario might look like this:

• Alex (Engineer) → Leads technical implementation → Responsible

• Jamie (Product Manager) → Owns conversion goals and project outcomes → Accountable

• Priya (Designer) → Provides input on UX and design decisions → Consulted

• Riley (Marketing) → Stays informed to coordinate launch campaigns → Informed

Defining this upfront helps prevent confusion and ensures everyone knows their responsibilities clearly

Regularly Revisit Alignment

Communication and alignment aren't one-time events. Regularly confirm:

• Is everyone still clear about their roles?

• Are explanations effective and audience-appropriate?

• Are new blockers or misunderstandings emerging?

Consistent check-ins allow quick adjustments and sustained clarity.

Actively Unblock Your Teammates

Proactively removing blockers is crucial for effective cross-team collaboration. Regularly ask:

• "What's slowing you down right now?"

• "How can I help you move forward?"

• "Do you need more clarity or resources to progress?"

Getting updates and being aligned will enable you to have a birds eye view of the project you're working on and you may flesh out requirements you didn't have before through these sessions, sync with your product manager or manager to understand where you fit into these as an engineer.

Regularly Check Your Approach

Frequently reflect on your effectiveness:

• Am I clearly communicating roles and expectations?

• Am I successfully adapting my communication style to each audience?

• Am I actively removing blockers for my teammates?

If you're unsure about these points, it’s time to refine your approach.

Bringing It Together: Round Up

Managing up, down, and across isn’t about more meetings, more process, or more overhead. It’s about reducing friction, unlocking clarity, and amplifying the impact of everyone around you. Which will enable you to do more with less and eventually you become easier to work with because you become consistent and reliable.

Think of it like this:

• Managing Up ensures you're solving the right problems.

• Managing Down ensures your team can move without you.

• Managing Across ensures your projects don’t stall in silence.

Most engineers hit a point where personal output alone isn't enough. If your week feels heavy, it's probably not a technical challenge. It's a coordination one. This is your opportunity to level up, not just as a builder, but as a force multiplier.

✅ What to Do Next (Pick One, Today)

Choose one direction: up, down, or across and commit to one clear shift this week:

• Up: Ask your manager: “What’s your top priority for me this month, and where do you need me most?”

• Down: Choose one teammate. Define clear ownership. Stop doing the work for them.

• Across: Pick one project. Create a RACI matrix. Clarify goals, owners, and dependencies for your own sanity.

This is how your real leverage builds.
Not through code. Through clarity.