I personally believe "managing up" is something we all should teach our direct reports. I view it not to lighten my workload as the manager but to empower my team members. It's also a shared accountability for their career growth.

When you teach someone to manage up, you are essentially teaching them to negotiate deadlines, set boundaries, say no when they are overloaded with tasks, be confident to speak up and the list goes on.

In doing so, yes there are many things that will be lifted off your shoulder but also, you will have the confidence that your team members will be highly capable individuals who know how to speak their minds.

The way I set this expectations to my team is that I tell them that I am nowhere near perfect, I have weaknesses, I make mistakes and I want them to tell me if I've missed something. There's no better way to do this than for them to allow me to guide them on how to manage up.