How to Practice the Art of Managing Up and Navigating Feedback with Mary Abbajay

Branding Room Only with Paula T. Edgar

Many of us have had the boss from hell at some point--that person calling the shots who was absolutely horrible to work for. And while many in this situation just quit, walking away from the job isn’t your only course of action. You can practice the art of managing up instead.

As the author of Managing Up, Mary Abbajay literally wrote the book on it. So, if you want to move up, win at work, and succeed with any type of boss, then listen in as she talks about what it means to manage up and how it impacts your relationships.

In this episode of the Branding Room Only podcast, you’ll learn how to manage up within a simple framework as you build your brand. Mary will also teach you how to give constructive feedback and overcome three things that might trigger you when receiving feedback.

1:39 - What personal brand means to Mary, three words that describe her, her favorite quote, and the hype song that plays every time she steps on stage

5:10 - Mary’s journey to discover what she wanted to do and how she defined and built her personal brand

11:08 - How luck links to success and how it helped Mary become a LinkedIn Learning Instructor and an author

16:32 - What managing up means and how doing it impacts your personal brand

22:43 - The simple framework for managing up and how it helps you build better professional and personal relationships

26:52 - The art of receiving feedback, its effect on your brand, and how to deal with the three feedback triggers

31:17 - How to give potentially challenging feedback in a constructive way and how it impacts your brand

39:47 - A brand aspect that Mary will always stand by, her Branding Room Only magic, and a fun sidebar on bartending

Mentioned In How to Practice the Art of Managing Up and Navigating Feedback with Mary Abbajay
Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss by Mary Abbajay

Mary Abbajay on LinkedIn

The Careerstone Group | Instagram

Cubicle Confidential podcast: Apple | Amazon | iHeart | Spotify

“2024 Intention and Goal Setting Webinar” | YouTube

Is Your Women’s Group Winning?: Strategies For Building A Stronger Women’s Initiative In Your Organization

“Some People Are Just Lucky. You Can Make Yourself One of Them.” by Rachel Feintzeig | Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen

This episode is brought to you by PGE Consulting Group LLC.

To learn more about Paula and her services, go to

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