Managing Up by Melody Wilding

You don't need a new job title to create real influence at work.

Have you ever felt snagged by workplace anxiety, micromanaged, overlooked, or stuck handling the tasks nobody else wants? What if you could teach the people above you to see your worth, without needing to switch roles or change bosses?

In Managing Up, human behavior expert and executive coach Melody Wilding gives you a tactical roadmap to navigate power dynamics with confidence, clarity, and emotional intelligence. Drawing from her work with leaders across Google, Amazon, and JPMorgan Chase, she equips you with conversation frameworks that help you speak your needs and boundaries and get heard.

At The Growth Shelf, we believe that influence isn’t given, it’s earned through alignment, presence, and relational trust. This book is your toolkit to reclaim agency and build authority—no title required.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

• Nine strategic conversations (Alignment, Visibility, Boundaries...) that transform interactions with your manager
• Scripts and real-world scenarios for saying “no,” earning respect, and surfacing your value—with tact and clarity
• Research-backed insights on emotional intelligence, persuasion, and workplace influence from a Harvard-trained psychologist

🌱 Why It Matters:

• For anyone feeling unseen—this book helps you earn visibility without self-promotion.
• For sensitive leaders—Wilding reframes traits like empathy and introspection as strengths, not liabilities
• For emerging professionals, it's not about climbing; it's about navigating—and reclaiming—your path.

Praise for Managing Up:

“Outstanding. Wilding’s scripts and strategies show us a better way to get ahead at work.” — Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism & Effortless
“A refreshingly modern, easy‑to‑follow instruction manual for navigating workplace dynamics with integrity and emotional intelligence.” — Dorie Clark

This isn’t just a leadership book, it’s a calling to shift your internal programming so your influence matches your intention.

Because the career you want isn’t created by luck. It’s shaped by aligned conversations.