In this solo episode, host Amanda Goetz answers a question from a reader that deserved a full episode of its own: "As a middle manager, I'm struggling to find the balance between managing up to my director while also managing a team that reports to me. Help." Drawing on her experience as a two-time founder, five-time CMO, and author, Amanda breaks down one of the most underrated (and hardest) jobs in the workforce, with real, tactical advice on managing up without people-pleasing, managing down without burning out, and proving your value at a time when middle management roles are shrinking.Hit play if you're ready to make your impact impossible to ignore!Got a question for a future episode? Send it to @girlboss or @theamandagoetz on Instagram.TimestampsKey Takeaways  Send a "Managing Up Monday" email every week with your top two to three priorities, any blockers, and last week's big wins, and copy your boss. It gives leadership a regular line of sight into your team's work. Show up to one-on-ones with problems and potential solutions, not a list of what you're working on. Stop reporting activity and start reporting impact. "The event was amazing" says nothing to leadership. Earned media value and brand sentiment do. Manage up without people-pleasing by asking your boss to help you rank their priorities by level of impact and level of effort. Push back on blurry feedback. Ask for an example, or ask what exactly they're reacting to. Skip triangulation. If you have a problem with someone on another team, go to them directly instead of through your boss. Use KUBA to give your team a safe way to ask for context: Do you know what to do? Do you understand why? Do you believe it's the right thing? Do you have the resources to act? Hold people accountable by agreeing on KPIs and expectations up front. It takes the emotion out of hard feedback.  Guard one to two hours a day for "offense mode," strategic work you do before meetings and your inbox take over. Document the impact of your work, how your people are performing, your processes, the high-level strategy, and how it all rolls up to a KPI.GUEST LINKSInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theamandagoetz/Book: https://bookshop.org/a/116169/9781464233258 https://www.amandagoetz.com/ FOLLOW THE PODCASTIG: https://www.instagram.com/girlboss/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlboss Amanda Goetz: https://www.instagram.com/theamandagoetz/ https://girlboss.com/pages/ambition-2-0-podcast SIGN UP Subscribe to the Girlboss Daily newsletter: https://newsletter.girlboss.com/  For all other Girlboss links: https://linkin.bio/girlboss/ ABOUT AMBITION 2.0 Powered by Girlboss, Ambition 2.0 is a podcast where we'll be exploring what it really means to "have it all" in work, family, identity, and self… and if it's actually worth it. Each week, you'll hear from hardworking women who've walked the tightrope of ambition. They'll share their costly mistakes, lessons learned, and practical tips for how to have it all and actually love what you have.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices