Things Leaders Do
Things Leaders Do is the go-to podcast for leaders who want real, actionable strategies—not just theory. Whether you're a new leader stepping into management or a seasoned executive refining your skills, host Colby Morris delivers practical tools and processes you can start using today to lead with confidence, clarity, and impact.
Each episode breaks down key leadership topics with humor, insight, and real-world application, covering:
✅ How to communicate effectively and build trust in your team
✅ The secrets to high-performance leadership and team culture
✅ Handling setbacks and leading under pressure
✅ How to be a people-first leader without losing accountability
✅ Mastering the balance between strategy, execution, and influence
No fluff. No vague concepts. Just tactical advice that helps you grow as a leader and drive real results in your business or organization.
Subscribe now and join thousands of leaders leveling up their skills. Because leadership isn’t about what you say—it’s about what you do.
🔑 Keywords: leadership, leadership development, new managers, executive coaching, team culture, business growth, personal development, management strategies, communication skills, success, accountability, productivity
Things Leaders Do
The Conflict Series, Episode 3: Managing Up — How to Disagree with Your Boss Without Killing Your Career
Managing Up — How to Disagree with Your Boss Without Killing Your Career
Disagreeing with your boss doesn’t have to be career suicide. In fact, it might be your most powerful leadership move—if you do it the right way.
In the final episode of The Conflict Series, Colby Morris tackles one of the toughest challenges for leaders in the middle: how to manage up. Whether you’re a middle manager, a team lead, or a high-performing individual contributor, you’ve likely faced the tension of wanting to speak up without stepping out of line.
This episode gives you the mindset, language, and strategy to disagree with leadership without damaging trust or credibility. Learn how to bring respectful pushback, contribute solutions instead of complaints, and connect feedback to shared goals—all while strengthening your influence from the middle of the org chart.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why most leaders get managing up completely wrong
- How to challenge direction without sounding combative
- A 3-part framework to speak up clearly, calmly, and credibly
- Real-world examples of how to bring feedback up the chain
- A leadership challenge to help you practice the right way this week
Whether you’re looking to build credibility with your boss, influence strategy from the middle, or coach your team on how to lead up well—this is the episode that brings it all together.
If this episode gave you new insight or language to lead from the middle, share it with your team or send it to another leader you respect.
Want to bring this conversation into your organization? Colby is available for speaking engagements, executive trainings, and leadership retreats focused on communication, culture, and courageous leadership.
Connect on LinkedIn or reach out through the link below.
What do you do when your boss is headed in the wrong direction? What do you do when the decision from above doesn't match the reality on the ground? Do you stay quiet and just hope it gets better? Do you push back and risk being labeled difficult? In today's episode, the final part of the conflict series, we're talking about one of the most misunderstood and really the most underdeveloped leadership skill out there managing up, because saying hard things downward is hard enough, but when you're trying to say hard things upward, that takes real clarity, real courage and yeah, real wisdom. And today I'm going to show you how to do it.
Speaker 1:Hey, leaders, welcome back to the TLD podcast. I'm Colby Morris and I'm here to help you lead better, faster, hopefully giving you real-world tools you can use. Today, all my episodes are designed to fit into your commute and packed with enough substance to shift how you lead the moment you walk in the door. So let's start the reality of leading from the middle. Well, many of you listening out there know exactly what I'm talking about because you've messaged me on LinkedIn to tell me about it. Middle managers are in what I call the tension point. You're expected to lead your team well, but also to carry out decisions that are coming from above, even if you don't agree with them. And when you challenge upward, the stakes feel higher. Right, what if they think I'm out of line? Or what if they retaliate? Or what if I ruin the relationship? But here's the truth. Great leaders want feedback Okay, great leaders need it and if you learn how to manage up and you do it well, you build trust, you build credibility and influence. You build trust, you build credibility and influence. So I want to give you three principles for managing up and how to do that with courage and respect.
Speaker 1:First, I want you to clarify your intent before you challenge direction. See, before you go in with criticism or opposition, you're going to have to check yourself. Are you just frustrated or maybe you're actually trying to improve the outcome? See, leading up starts with checking your motive. Your tone should reflect a desire to contribute, not to call out or just randomly challenge. Try something like I want to make sure we're as effective as possible here. Or I may be missing something, but from my perspective, here's what I'm seeing. I want you to remember this. Tone matters more than you think. You can say the same words two different ways and get two radically different reactions, and you know what I'm talking about. All right.
Speaker 1:Two, I want you to lead with data, not emotion. See, disagreeing up the chain is a lot easier when you're holding evidence instead of emotion. Did you hear that Disagreeing up the chain is a lot easier when you're holding evidence instead of emotion? You don't need to prove your boss wrong. You need to show them what's real. You need to bring metrics, you need to bring examples, observations from the team, the risks that you're identifying, and then start out this way hey, here's what we've seen since we implemented whatever. Or here's the feedback I'm getting from the team. I wanted to raise this so we can get ahead of any fallout. Here's what you need to know. It's not disagreement that gets people in trouble, it's delivery without credibility that makes all the difference in the world, all right. Three, I want you to frame your feedback in terms of shared goals. The fastest way to get shut down make it sound like a power struggle. Okay, the fastest way to be heard, you have to connect your point to what they care about. Try something like I know we're both trying to increase adoption of this process. Here's something I think might get in the way. Or, hey, since we're both focused on team retention, I wanted to flag something that I think could impact morale. See, in this instance, you're not just pushing back, you're partnering for a better result. Okay, you're being a partner with that leader and tying in what they want with what you want.
Speaker 1:Years ago I had a boss Very driven, very sharp, very respected in the entire organization but they rolled out a top-down initiative that just wasn't working on the ground level. Okay, I saw the morale just die. Okay, productivity stopped. You can say it slipped, it stopped. I knew I had to say something. Now I didn't barge in, I didn't blast them with complaints, I just sat down with them. I said hey, I know the goal here is speed, but I want to show you how it's playing out in real time with the team. I brought metrics, I brought examples and I came with solutions, not just problems. And you know what they know what he said. He said thanks for not just unloading on me. This helps, man.
Speaker 1:That moment taught me something I have never forgotten the best leaders don't need you to agree, they need you to be honest. Here's what leaders get wrong when they're managing up. It's not just about whether you get feedback, it's about how you do it. Okay, here are three common ways that leaders just miss the mark when they're managing up. And what to do instead?
Speaker 1:Okay, first, they vent instead of communicate. Hey, I'll admit it feels good to blow off steam, but when you take that unfiltered emotion directly to your boss, it doesn't land as helpful, it lands as hostile. What feels like speaking your truth can come across as immaturity if you haven't filled your thoughts with clarity and purpose. So what's the fix? Go vent to a mentor. Okay, you vent to a mentor, but you communicate with your leader. Use your support system.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's how you process your feelings and then you can go into the conversation with your leader, calm, prepared. You can focus on the issue and not the frustration. Two, they assume their boss doesn't want feedback. So many mid-level leaders believe the person above them just doesn't care or, worse, already knows and doesn't want to hear it again. But most of the time they don't know what you know. They're operating from a totally different view, with different pressures, and they may not realize how things are actually playing out, especially on the front line. When you assume your boss doesn't want feedback, you rob them of the chance to get better and you rob yourself of the chance to lead. You have to start with awareness, start with belief that they might be open if you approach the right way.
Speaker 1:And then three, they wait until they're angry. This is the biggest trap. You know what I'm talking about. You hold it in, you justify, you keep pushing it down until one day it comes out sideways and instead of that helpful insight, it becomes a confrontation. By the time you speak up. It's not feedback, it's a frustration dump, and that is what hurts your credibility. You can't wait for the blow up moment. If something feels off, address it early, when it's a coaching moment, not a crisis.
Speaker 1:All right, here's your leadership challenge for this week. I want you to take action. First, I want you to identify one decision or one direction from leadership that you've been hesitant to speak up about Bigger ball, I want you to name it and name it clearly up. About Big or small, I want you to name it and name it clearly. Two or second, I want you to write down your observations. Okay, filter out the frustration, focus on facts, focus on the outcomes, the patterns, potential risks. And then, three, reframe your approach. And then three, reframe your approach. What does your leader care about? Do you know? How does that tie into their priorities? Shape your message to align with shared goals. And then, finally, I want you to schedule the conversation or rehearse it.
Speaker 1:Yes rehearse it. Practice the words. Rehearse it. Yes, rehearse it. Practice the words. Practice the language. Okay, keep your tone calm. Lead with clarity, not with criticism. The more you practice it, the more you'll be in control when you finally get to have that conversation.
Speaker 1:Look, leadership isn't just managing down. It's managing across and it's managing up too. If you want to lead well in the middle, you need courage, you need clarity and you need the ability to deliver truth without torching the trust. Okay, managing up is part of being a people first leader, because it means advocating for your team and contributing to the success of the people above you. If your organization needs help building a culture where feedback can flow in every direction, I'd love to help. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or look in the show notes. I'll put the link in there for how you can get a hold of me. I'd love to help out, and if this episode helped you, I'd love for you to share it with another leader who's navigating these same challenges. So go out there, lead up, lead well, be a good leader, be courageous in what you're doing. And you know why? Because those are the things that leaders do.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do. If you're looking for more tips on how to be a better leader, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and listen to next week's episode. Until next time, keep working on being a better leader by doing the things that leaders do.