Why Great Account Managers Make Their Bosses Look Good

In 1961, a young President stood before the American people and delivered one of the most famous lines in political history: "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." John F. Kennedy probably never imagined his words could one day apply to the chaotic world of advertising agencies, but yes they can.

Picture this: You're sitting in a "quick sync" meeting that's somehow stretched to 45 minutes, watching your boss try to juggle three client crises, two budget overruns, and what appears to be a minor nervous breakdown over the coffee machine being broken again.

Sound familiar?

Here's the thing, while you're sitting there thinking "I wish my boss would give me clearer direction" or "If only they'd make a decision faster," you're missing the real opportunity. The best account managers don't wait for leadership to happen to them. They create it.

This isn't about "sucking-up" to get your way to the top (though if that's your strategy, you're reading the wrong blog). This is about something Harvard Business Review calls "managing up" - the art of "consciously working with your superior to obtain the best possible results for you, your boss, and the company."

Think of it as strategic influence from the middle. You know, like being the person who quietly makes everything work while someone else gets the credit. Except this time, that's actually the point. So here's how...

1. Understand Their World (It's Scarier Up There)

Your boss isn't just dealing with your account's drama, they're juggling revenue targets, client retention nightmares, and probably explaining to their boss why the agency's latest "innovative" campaign idea involves a dancing mascot. Again.

As Culture Amp research shows, effective managing up starts with understanding your manager's goals  (just like your clients), communication style, and what keeps them awake at 3 AM (spoiler: it's not just caffeine or...).

Stop thinking like an account executive and start thinking like a business owner. What are their KPIs? What does success look like at their altitude? Read their objectives like you'd read a creative brief, because essentially, that's what they are. If you don't know what your boss's biggest challenges are, you're probably one of them.

2. Be the Source, Not the Sink

Senior leaders don't need more problems dumped on their desk like unwanted 'we sell your car' flyers. They need solutions. Forbes calls this approach the science and art of managing up and, it's more art than science because it requires actual thought.

Instead of: "The client hates the campaign and wants to start over."

Try: "The client has concerns about the campaign's tone. I've identified three specific issues and prepared two alternative approaches that address their feedback while staying on budget and timeline."

The magic formula is simple: Problem + Analysis + Options + Recommendation = You just became invaluable.

3. Make Them Look Good (Without Looking Like You're Trying)

Here's a counterintuitive truth: the fastest way to get promoted is to make your boss so successful they get promoted first. When they move up, guess who they're likely to recommend for their old role? That's right - the person who made them look like good.

This isn't about being fake or manipulative. As Harvard Business Review notes, the healthiest boss-employee relationships are built on mutual support and shared success.

The approach is straightforward: credit flows up, heat flows down. Anticipate their needs before they ask - meeting prep, client intelligence, team morale updates. Be the person who handles things so thoroughly they forget to worry about them.

Remember: When they succeed, you get remembered. When they fail, you both go down with the ship.

4. Sharpen Their Blind Spots (Tactfully)

You're probably closer to the actual work, the clients, and the creative teams on many projects than your boss is. You see the early warning signs of burnout, the subtle client dissatisfaction, the inefficiencies that haven't bubbled up yet.

BetterUp research emphasizes that upward communication works best when you pair problem identification with potential solutions.

Be the early warning system they didn't know they needed. For example: "I've noticed the team seems stretched thin this week, and it might impact our Friday deliverables. Should we consider bringing in freelance support, or would you prefer to adjust the timeline with the client?"

This is leadership without from the below and it's exactly what senior management values most.

5. Speak the Language of Value

Stop just reporting tasks and start reporting impact. Your boss doesn't care that you sent 47 emails today (although, honestly, maybe you should look into that). They care about what those emails accomplished.

As strategy expert Wes Kao points out, managing up means being a competent operator who drives toward business goals, not just checking boxes. Transform your updates from task completion to impact reporting:

Instead of: "Hey I finished the social media deck."

Try: "Completed the social media strategy deck. The new approach could increase engagement by 30% based on similar campaigns, which supports our Q4 growth targets."

The difference? You're not just doing work, you're driving business outcomes.

6. Keep the Pressure Off (Be the Person Who Handles It)

The best account managers are like those friends who somehow make everything easier just by being around. They don't add to the chaos - they reduce it.

Slack's research on managing-up shows that helping your manager manage their time and mental load is one of the most valuable things you can do.

Become the person they don't have to manage: send clearer, more concise emails (seriously, nobody needs a novel about campaign updates), prepare tighter presentations that get to the point, follow up on decisions without being asked, and handle the small fires before they become big ones.

The less mental energy they spend managing you, the more they can focus on the big picture and the more they'll trust you with important work.

Lead Without the Title

In the end leadership isn't about hierarchy, it's about usefulness, proactivity, and ownership. The account managers who rise fastest aren't necessarily the most talented (though talent helps). They're the ones who make everyone around them more successful. They anticipate problems, solve them quietly, and make their bosses look like strategic geniuses.

When you start asking "What can I do for my boss?" instead of "What can my boss do for me?", something magical happens. You stop waiting to be led and start leading from wherever you are.

And Forbes research shows that people who master managing up are significantly more likely to be promoted and given leadership opportunities.

So next time you're in one of those endless meetings, instead of mentally planning your lunch order, ask yourself: "What's the one thing I could do right now that would make my boss's job easier?"