Trying to Build Influence With Executives? Avoid These 4 Mistakes.

Managing up to executives is one of the most underrated skills in business. Although managing up is tricky at any level, it’s particularly difficult when the person you’re managing up to is a vice president or C-suite leader.

As an executive coach, I know that influencing is a skill that many leaders want to get better at. It becomes increasingly important as you climb the corporate ladder, yet it’s rarely taught and even more rarely practiced effectively.

Here are some of the most common missteps professionals make when managing up to executives and a few ways to start doing it better.

1. Not knowing the executive’s goals

Influencing as a leader is about more than just being a strong communicator. You must deeply understand the goals of the person you’re communicating with if you want your message to land and move them to action. Without that foundation, you’re essentially talking at them, not with them.

I was recently working with a client who was preparing for a conversation he was going to have with his new skip-level. As we developed his key talking points, he quickly realized that he didn’t actually know what mattered most to his leader, so instead of jumping straight into his agenda, we reframed the entire conversation around learning his executive’s priorities.

When we debriefed during our next coaching session, the impact of our efforts was clear. He discovered that he had been misaligned with his executive, spending energy on outdated KPIs his leader no longer cared about. With that clarity, he redirected his efforts toward work that clearly aligned with his leader’s priorities. That one conversation changed everything.

2. Failing to adapt to the leader

We all have communication preferences, and it’s natural to default to them when we’re not being intentional. While that can work day-to-day, you don’t want to fall back on your defaults during your limited airtime with executives. You need to tailor your communication to their needs, not the other way around.

One of my clients was working on a high-visibility AI transformation project for her VP. She kept requesting one-to-one meetings that repeatedly got rescheduled or canceled. When we dug deeper, we discovered that the executive strongly preferred brief daily Slack updates over scheduled meetings.

When managing up, your job is to adapt to the leader. The more you understand how your leader likes to receive information, communicate and make decisions, the more influence you’ll have. If you don’t know, ask. It’s a simple question that signals both self-awareness and respect for their limited time.

3. Providing too much context

Senior executives can have hundreds, if not thousands, of direct and indirect reports. When you communicate with them, keep in mind just how much information they are already filtering at any given moment. When you bury your message in context, you risk losing their attention.

A client recently asked me to review their strategy slides before a one-on-one meeting. I was quickly overwhelmed by the volume of content they were presenting. I found myself drowning in details. I knew that if I couldn’t track it, their executive certainly wouldn’t.

Lead with your recommendation. Executives want to know what you need from them and why it matters. Come in with a clear ask and a concise rationale. Save the supporting details for follow-up questions.

4. Not marketing the value of your work

Building your influence requires you to keep your executive up to date. Many high performers make the mistake of assuming their leader knows what they’re working on and understands the value they’re delivering. That assumption can be incredibly costly to your career growth.

Some of the strongest contributors go unrecognized simply because they don’t communicate their impact. Humility is generally a leadership asset, but it can backfire come bonus season and promotion cycles if your executive doesn’t have a clear picture of what you’ve accomplished.

One of my clients prided herself on being humble. It was a quality she wore gladly, until it worked against her. Her boss told her she hadn’t led any enterprise-wide projects that would merit a promotion. The truth was, she had, but just never communicated them, assuming her boss was already aware. He wasn’t.

This doesn’t have to be a formal update or a polished presentation. Sometimes the most effective approach is subtle: a quick Slack message, a CC on a key email or a brief update during a one-on-one meeting. The key is to communicate the value of your work consistently rather than assuming your executive is tracking it. They’re busy, which means your job is to make it easy for them to see what you’re contributing and why it matters.

Managing up to executives is a skill, and like any skill, it improves with intention and consistent practice. Know your leader’s goals, adapt your communication style to his or hers, get to the point quicker, and make your contributions known. You’ve got this!