Balancing Leading Up and Leading Down

How to Align Team and Manager Expectations

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Samin Saadat
Executive Director, Posted on Nov 28, 2024

How can you speak up for your team while meeting the expectations of your organization? As a leader, it can be challenging to balance the goals of the organization with the needs of your team. How can you manage expectations from above while ensuring your team's success?


Through our work with various companies, we've found that great leaders succeed by mastering both upward Leading Up and downward Leading Down. This blog offers simple, practical tips to build trust and excel in both areas of leadership.


Leading Up: Delivering Your Team’s Voice to Your Boss

  • Set Boundaries on What and How It Can Be Done
    While the why and what of your work may come from your boss or upper management, it's important to recognize that you have the authority and autonomy to set boundaries on how and when it can be accomplished. This should be done with consideration of your team’s bandwidth and available resources. Transparent and assertive communication can help manage their expectations and enable better planning on their part.
  • Providing Solutions, Not Just Problems
    When presenting a challenge, don’t stop at describing the problem. Instead, offer practical solutions that align with your team’s capabilities and also help upper management achieve their goals. Ultimately, they want to understand how your solution benefits them. Frame your proposal effectively—you’re not just sharing an idea, you’re selling it.
  • Staying in Communication with Leadership
    Keep your boss regularly updated on your team’s progress and challenges. Consistent updates build trust and ensure alignment on priorities. For instance, if delays or roadblocks arise, be upfront about them and collaborate on solutions. This approach fosters a stronger partnership and ensures mutual success.


Leading Down: Connecting the Team to the Organization

  • Managing Conflicting Priorities
    When your team’s workload conflicts with the organization’s demands, work to align goals and deadlines. For example, if your team has limited resources while the organization sets tight deadlines, communicate with your boss to identify realistic solutions that balance both needs effectively.
  • Clarifying Organizational Goals for Your Team
    Break down the organization’s overarching goals into actionable steps for your team. For instance, if the company’s objective is to increase sales, explain how each team member’s role contributes to that target. This helps your team understand how their work directly supports the organization’s success and fosters a sense of purpose.
  • Scheduling Regular Reflection Meetings
    Hold weekly reflection meetings with your team to review what’s working well and identify areas for improvement. Use these meetings to discuss ways to enhance performance for the upcoming week. For example:
    If a recurring bottleneck in communication slows your team’s progress, brainstorm solutions to address it internally.
    If your team faces challenges like unclear organizational priorities or insufficient resources, make a note to escalate these issues to your boss.


This proactive approach not only helps identify and resolve issues early but also ensures alignment between your team’s efforts and the organization’s goals.


Bringing Leadership Together: Connecting Your Team to the Organization

  • Balancing Conflicting Priorities
    When your team’s work is at odds with the organization’s needs, adjust priorities and schedules to find a balance. For example, if urgent organizational tasks interfere with your team's current projects, recalibrate deadlines and distribute work accordingly to keep productivity high.
  • Turning Organizational Goals into Actionable Steps
    Communicate the organization’s goals clearly, and show how your team can contribute. For example, break down a broad goal like increasing revenue into smaller, achievable tasks for the team. This helps motivate your team and ensures that everyone is aligned with the organization's vision.


The Key to Leadership Success: Balance
Upward and downward leadership go hand in hand. By building trust and clear communication in both directions, you can create an environment where both your team and the organization succeed.


We’ve seen many leaders achieve great results by mastering this balance. Now, it’s your turn to lead positive change for both your team and your organization.



With over a decade of experience in organizational and industrial psychology, we at Jalapeño Employee Engagement help leaders and companies create thriving, inclusive workplaces. We use technology and psychological science to drive positive change in organizational and leadership development, strategic planning, and essential skills training and coaching. We offer services and tools designed to enhance well-being, innovation, and productivity for small and midsize teams. At Jalapeño, we combine research with practical expertise to bridge the gap between theory and real-world application. We have designed and delivered courses in organizational development and leadership coaching for master’s students and executives. These programs align academic insights with the evolving needs of today’s workforce.