How did we spend so many years in offices without hearing the phrase “managing up”? And why have we heard it so often recently? Because it is only recently that we have had executive coaches — and if there is one thing they love talking about, it is “managing up”.

“Managing up” is all about handling the relationship with your boss, which is why people who don’t like the sound of it say it is actually “sucking up”.

It is true that colleagues who flatter, act as eyes and ears for their bosses, speak of them only in positive terms and make sure that no good deed goes unnoticed upstairs may look as if they are merely being sycophantic. Sadly, we have to acknowledge that they are practising an important office technique.

There is much theory about mutually supportive relationships, complementary skills and finding a way of dealing that benefits you and your company. Forget all that. The secret to remember about bosses is that they want you to be good enough to make them look good, but not so good that you look better than they do. And if you are good, they don’t like the idea of your being good for someone else, which is why so many of them try to block internal promotions without telling you.

No, in practice there are three ways to work: if you have a really bad boss you must work to expose how really bad he is; if you have an OK boss, then work on those little trade-offs that make her look good and you happy in your work; if you have a really good boss, get close and work hard on the basis that the higher he or she rises, the farther you will go, too.

This last is a gamble, of course. For if this kind of boss gets passed over for the big job, then you will be so closely associated with him or her that you will be out, too. But the joy of getting to the top outweighs the danger of falling on the climb. And what is an office life without risk?

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