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.

NXT Step Advisors

The Conflict Series, Episode 3: Managing Up — How to Disagree with Your Boss Without Killing Your Career

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