Why Manage-Up Kills Career: 9 Effective Ways to Influence Your Boss | Elizabeth Xu, Ph.D. | TEDxCSTU

Dr. Elizabeth Xu, a seasoned C-level executive and author, shares essential insights on how the concept of "managing up" can potentially derail your career. With a rich background that includes speaking at companies like Google, Intel, Visa, and Moody’s, Dr. Xu explains why aligning up—rather than managing up—is the key to fostering successful and promotable careers. Drawing from her experience since becoming a C-level executive in 2005 and managing over 100,000 people collectively throughout her career. Dr. Xu introduces four levels of win-win relationships—customer, company, group, and manager—that can help you not only support your boss but also position yourself as a strong candidate for promotion. She also presents 9 practical actions that you can implement at your workplace to enhance your career advancement. 9 Practical Actions are: 1. Understand your manager as a person 2. Understand your manager’s situation at work 3. Provide timely and useful information 4. Help Your Manager Make a Decision - 3 Solutions 5. Report your progress and status weekly 6. Manage your manager’s expectations continuously 7.Ask for resources from your manager 8.Get priority from your manager, as appropriate 9. Request continuous feedback from your manager #InfluenceYourBoss #ManagingUp #CareerAdvice #CareerGrowth #LeadershipSkills #ExecutiveLeadership #TEDxCSTU #ProfessionalDevelopment #AlignUp #WinWinStrategy #ElizabethXu #Dr.Liz Dr. Elizabeth Xu is the Chairman and Co-Founder of California Science and Technology University (CSTU) in Silicon Valley, an institution dedicated to inclusive and affordable AI education. She also founded A2C Academy, an executive coaching company focused on mentoring mid-career professionals towards C-suite roles. With extensive experience as a board director and C-level executive, Elizabeth has held key positions as CTO at BMC Software and CP Group, overseeing enterprise software development that generated billions in revenue. In addition to her executive roles, Elizabeth taught at Stanford University for six years and authored "Myths of the Promotion: 10 Steps to a Successful Career," published in 2012 and available on Amazon. Recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Chinese in 2023 and a US Top 50 Diversity Leader in 2020, she remains a powerful influence in guiding aspiring professionals. Elizabeth enjoys hiking, swimming, painting, and occasionally playing golf with friends. She actively shares her leadership insights and career management tips through her YouTube leadership channels and LinkedIn newsletters, striving to inspire and support the next generation of talent. Watch this video to learn how to shift your career strategy and become a promotable candidate. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx