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Comment BadBoss to get added to my free webinar ✨ A difficult boss can make your job harder. A toxic boss can make you question your entire career. And sometimes, “managing up” isn’t about figuring out the perfect thing to say to them—it’s about making sure they aren’t the only person shaping the narrative about you. If you’re working under a difficult leader: ✨ Build advocates above them. Develop genuine relationships with senior leaders who know your work, your reputation, and what you’re capable of. 👀 Create visibility. Volunteer for cross-functional projects, speak up in meetings, share your wins appropriately, and make sure your impact exists outside of your boss’s inbox. 🤝 Build a strong internal network. The more people who have experienced working with you firsthand, the harder it is for one difficult manager to control your career trajectory. And finally… 🚪 Know when managing up has become putting up. You can communicate better. You can set boundaries. You can build relationships. You can document your work. But you cannot single-handedly fix a toxic culture or a leader committed to undermining you. Sometimes the smartest career move isn’t learning how to survive the environment. It’s leaving it. Your goal isn’t to win over every difficult boss. It’s to build a career where no single boss has the power to determine your worth—or your future.