When “Managing Up” Becomes the Only Management: How Do You Navigate Being Undermanaged?
Vicky
When “Managing Up” Becomes the Only Management: How Do You Navigate Being Undermanaged?
Has anyone else dealt with a manager who’s more focused on “managing up” than managing their own team?
Here’s the situation I’m struggling with:
My manager has only been in a leadership role for 3 years. When I joined the company 2 years ago, he was solely responsible for managing our team of 7 internal employees (we also have 5 external contractors from a small agency we work with regularly, but he doesn't manage them). At the time, he was fairly involved in our day-to-day work.
A year ago, due to a reorg, he was promoted to VP—taking on responsibility for our team and a broader strategic area. Since then, everything changed.
- He now heavily prioritizes the “higher” area of his role and is clearly more passionate about it.
- Our team gets minimal support. He’s withdrawn from direct management, and communication has suffered.
- He’s increasingly relying on the external contractor team to perform what should be manager-level duties—writing job descriptions, running staff meetings, and sharing strategic updates with them before informing us.
- Internal performance issues go unaddressed, and new roles tend to go to contractors rather than developing or promoting from within.
- Morale is low. Many teammates feel disengaged, unsupported, and confused by shifting priorities and lack of clarity.
Most recently, the contractor team created a plan (with my manager’s support) to train us—the internal employees—to take over more management-type responsibilities “so we don’t have to wait on the manager.” But it honestly feels like another attempt to offload his duties so he can fully focus on managing up and pursuing strategy.
This situation raises a few questions for me:
1- Has anyone been in a similar spot? How did you navigate it?
2- Is this a common trend in leadership transitions—especially when people move up without letting go of prior responsibilities?
3 -How do you advocate for better management without it sounding like you're complaining?
4- How much should a team be expected to “self-manage,” and where’s the line between empowerment and abandonment?
I’d love to hear how others have handled similar situations—especially in mid-size companies with matrixed or fast-changing org structures. Especially if you are a manager yourself and are dealing with a similar situation.
Thanks in advance for any insights or advice.
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