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Agent skill

Managing Up

by RefoundAI in RefoundAI/lenny-skills

Help users master the art of proactive communication and alignment with their managers and founders to unlock autonomy, secure resources, and drive business impact.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Managing Up

skills CLI
$ npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill managing-up -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install RefoundAI/lenny-skills managing-up --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/RefoundAI/lenny-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/managing-up .claude/skills/managing-up && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
managing-up
GitHub stars
1.4k
Token cost
~1.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
770 words
Files
3 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
76
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Help users master the art of proactive communication and alignment with their managers and founders to unlock autonomy, secure resources, and drive business impact.

  • Works in 4 steps: Audit current communication - Identify… → Structure the operating cadence -… → Script difficult conversations - Draft… → …
  • SKILL.md covers How to Help, Core Principles, Templates & Frameworks and Questions to Help Users, plus 3 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Managing Up is an agent skill from RefoundAI/lenny-skills. Help users master the art of proactive communication and alignment with their managers and founders to unlock autonomy, secure resources, and drive business impact.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 3 other files, including reference files (for example `references/artifacts.md` and `references/guest-insights.md`).

The repository describes itself as: 86 product management skills from Lenny's Podcast for Claude Code and AI agents. Hiring, user research, strategy, shipping, and more. The licence is MIT.

Example prompts

  • “/managing-up”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Audit current communication - Identify if the user is currently reactive or proactive in their updates and how they handle disagreement.
  2. Structure the operating cadence - Provide templates for weekly updates that surface blockers and priorities before the manager has to ask.
  3. Script difficult conversations - Draft specific language for pushing back on ideas or asking for resources using business-centered framing.
  4. Map the trust building path - Use the Meat and Potatoes framework to show how executing on core tasks earns the right to pursue bigger…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 13598cc. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Managing Up loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs, and up to ~15k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 44 tokens; SKILL.md has 770 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~44
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.3k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~15k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from RefoundAI/lenny-skills at commit 13598cc, republished under its MIT licence (© RefoundAI). 770 words, ~1,349 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/managing-up/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
managing-up
description
Help users master the art of proactive communication and alignment with their managers and founders to unlock autonomy, secure resources, and drive business impact.

Managing Up for Leaders

Transform your relationship with leadership from a reporting line into a high-trust strategic partnership.

Help the user with managing up for leaders using insights from 21 guests and posts across Lenny's Podcast and Newsletter.

How to Help

  1. Audit current communication - Identify if the user is currently reactive or proactive in their updates and how they handle disagreement.
  2. Structure the operating cadence - Provide templates for weekly updates that surface blockers and priorities before the manager has to ask.
  3. Script difficult conversations - Draft specific language for pushing back on ideas or asking for resources using business-centered framing.
  4. Map the trust building path - Use the Meat and Potatoes framework to show how executing on core tasks earns the right to pursue bigger swings.

Core Principles

Reframe self-promotion as education

Deb Liu: "It looks like self-promotion. I wouldn't want to do that because it's self-promotion. But instead, what if I called it educating about all the great work your team has been doing? Helping people see why your team should get more resources, you have to actually share what you do."

Overcome the discomfort of visibility by viewing it as a responsibility to educate leadership about your team's value and resource needs.

Shift from pushback to business success

Jason Shah: "It starts from a place of I need to disagree, I need to say no. It's a very negative mindset, purely based on the word that has come to label a behavior that alternatively could be about how do I shift the direction on something, or how do I help the business actually succeed when I disagree with somebody about something, and that's a very different mindset."

Avoid the phrase 'push back' as it creates a sense of opposition. Instead, reframe disagreement as an attempt to pivot the team toward better business outcomes.

Prioritize dialogue over being right

Kenneth Berger: "Often what I try to introduce people to, and I've learned all this stuff the hard way, believe me, is it's fundamentally disrespectful to go into a meeting already deciding that you're right and the other person is wrong because you can't know that for sure."

Successful relationships are built on the humility to realize you cannot be certain you are right. Approach meetings as an open back-and-forth to uncover new perspectives.

Show full SKILL.md (384 more words)Show less

Templates & Frameworks

  • The Magic Loop (The Magic Loop) - A five-step repeatable framework for systematically growing your career within a company by building a collaborative relationship with your manager
  • Three-Step Process for Saying No (Saying no) - A structured approach for responding to manager ideas: Listen → Form your POV → Respond constructively
  • Manager Communication Template (Autonomy Template) (Becoming a senior Product Manager) - A 3-step template for sharing challenges and decisions with your manager that demonstrates capability, earns trust, and opens the door for feedback without soun
  • Alignment-Confidence Matrix (Managing Up) (Ravi Mehta) - A framework for understanding your relationship currency with your manager based on alignment with their direction and their confidence in you
  • Meat and Potatoes Before Soufflé Trust Framework (How to ship like a startup) - A framework for earning leadership trust to pursue your own ambitious product ideas
  • Five Tactics for Managing Up (Managing up) - Lenny's five-part framework for effectively managing up with your manager at any level
  • Questions to Ask When First Hearing a Manager's Idea (Saying no) - Five questions to ask before reacting to understand the manager's thinking and demonstrate open-mindedness

See references/artifacts.md for the full list with details.

Questions to Help Users

  • "What is your current cadence for updating your manager on priorities and blockers?"
  • "How do you typically handle a situation where your manager proposes an idea you disagree with?"
  • "Are there specific areas where your manager's intuition and your data-driven approach are in conflict?"
  • "To what extent does your manager understand the trade-offs your team is currently making?"
  • "What is one high-priority task you could take off your manager's plate right now to build trust?"

Common Mistakes to Flag

  • Reacting with an immediate no - This creates visceral opposition before you've listened to the underlying goal or asked clarifying questions.
  • Hidden struggle - Leaders often let their teams struggle in isolation for too long rather than leveraging internal experts to unblock progress.
  • Ignoring the protagonism trap - Focusing on your own career narrative rather than seeing yourself as a contributor to the organization's larger mission causes friction.
  • Communicating only when there is a problem - This creates a reactive dynamic and keeps the manager in a state of anxiety regarding your team's progress.

Deep Dive

For all 31 sourced insights from 21 guests, see references/guest-insights.md

  • Product Reviews
  • Executive Communication
  • Running Meetings
  • Written Communication

© RefoundAI, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files (references) in skills/managing-up of RefoundAI/lenny-skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/artifacts.md
  • references/guest-insights.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 13598cc

Compare with similar skills

Managing Up next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Managing Up compared with similar skills
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Managing Up this skillRefoundAI/lenny-skills1.4k—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
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Agent Browserquran/quran.com-frontend-next1.9k42 repos~3.3kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Process Inboxtelegramdesktop/tdesktop33k2 repos~4.5kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
Brag Launch Videolatent-spaces/brag14k1 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Managing Up

What does Managing Up do?

Help users master the art of proactive communication and alignment with their managers and founders to unlock autonomy, secure resources, and drive business impact. Managing Up is an agent skill from RefoundAI/lenny-skills. Help users master the art of proactive communication and alignment with their managers and founders to unlock autonomy, secure resources, and drive business impact.

How do I install Managing Up in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill managing-up -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/managing-up in RefoundAI/lenny-skills) into .claude/skills/managing-up in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Managing Up in Codex?

Run `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill managing-up -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/managing-up in RefoundAI/lenny-skills) into .agents/skills/managing-up in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Managing Up in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill managing-up -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/managing-up, .gemini/skills/managing-up, .github/skills/managing-up and .opencode/skills/managing-up in your project.

What does Managing Up need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Managing Up is instructions for the agent only.

Does Managing Up access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Managing Up safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Managing Up use?

Managing Up is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Managing Up use?

About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 13k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Managing Up?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Managing Up: Idea Refinement (addyosmani/agent-skills, 103k stars), HTML PPT Studio (lewislulu/html-ppt-skill, 8.6k stars), Agent Browser (quran/quran.com-frontend-next, 1.9k stars) and Process Inbox (telegramdesktop/tdesktop, 33k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Managing Up?

RefoundAI (a GitHub organization) maintains it in RefoundAI/lenny-skills, which has 1,377 GitHub stars. The repository holds 76 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on July 16, 2026.

Source: RefoundAI/lenny-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.