Your work gets stuck above you
Package the decision so it can move.
Course library
See what you will learn
Manage up with context, not hints.
A daily course for making your work easier to sponsor, unblock, and evaluate without waiting to be asked.
Download Cadence free from the App Store, or request free Android testing access.
30 short lessons. Day 1 is ready.
- Best for
- Management
- Prerequisites
- No formal prerequisites
- Course length
- 30 daily lessons
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Total learning time
- About 5 hours in total
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
Every lesson connects to a conversation, decision, or habit you can change between lessons.
Your updates are too detailed
Show the signal your manager needs, not every task.
Priorities keep shifting
Frame tradeoffs instead of absorbing every change silently.
You want more trust
Make your judgment visible before promotion season.
Inside the course
Your first three days are already mapped.
The course follows a daily sequence, so the next practical move is waiting when you come back.
Better updates
Lead with status, risk, ask, and next move.
Cleaner escalation
Escalate early without dumping responsibility.
Priority tradeoffs
Show what changes when new work enters.
Trust signals
Help your manager see judgment, ownership, and follow-through.
Course preview
30 short lessons
Managing Up for Decisions
Day 1
What Your Manager Needs to Decide
Identify the decision details managers usually need before they can help.
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Day 2
Catch Issues Before They Blow Up
Recognize the warning signs that a small issue is becoming a manager decision.
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Day 3
Sort Facts, Options, and Risks
Sort information into facts, options, risks, and recommendations your manager can use.
Course arc
From vague intention to repeatable moves.
Cadence turns the course into a returnable habit: short lesson, quick check, review, and the next useful step.
01 / 04Know the manager lens
Understand what decisions they need to make.
Package the ask
Turn confusion into a concrete request.
Show tradeoffs
Make competing priorities explicit.
Build trust
Create a reliable update and escalation rhythm.
Full syllabus
30 lessons, arranged as one clear path.
Learn to understand your manager's context, make reliable agreements, brief decisions, ask for feedback, disagree with care, protect boundaries, and escalate responsibly. You will finish with a practical operating agreement for the relationship, not just a status template.
Module 01
Understand the Manager Context
Learn the manager's priorities, constraints, decision rights, and information needs through direct questions and observable evidence.
- Day 1 What Your Manager Needs to Decide
- Day 2 Catch Issues Before They Blow Up
- Day 3 Sort Facts, Options, and Risks
- Day 4 Brief a Manager With No Time
- Day 5 Make Your Ask Unmistakable
Module 02
Build Trust Through Reliability
Set expectations for timing, updates, capacity, bad news, and boundaries so neither side has to guess.
- Day 6 Does Your Update Hold Up?
- Day 7 Know When to Escalate Now
- Day 8 Deliver Bad News Early
- Day 9 Bring Options, Not Just Problems
- Day 10 Pick the Right Escalation Channel
Module 03
Brief Decisions Clearly
Turn messy work into concise updates with facts, stakes, options, recommendations, and clear requests.
- Day 11 Structure a Decision Brief
- Day 12 Back It With Evidence That Matters
- Day 13 Make a Clear Recommendation
- Day 14 Stay Calm Under Tension
- Day 15 Draft a Real Manager Update
Module 04
Disagree, Escalate, and Hold Boundaries
Push back using shared goals, surface risk without surprise, and use formal routes when the issue exceeds ordinary managing up.
- Day 16 Enough to Decide On?
- Day 17 Agree on How You Will Work Together
- Day 18 Push Back With Shared Goals
- Day 19 Escalate Without Surprises
- Day 20 Hold a Boundary When Priorities Clash
- Day 21 Choose the Right Escalation Path
Module 05
Feedback, Advocacy, and Wider Relationships
Ask for useful feedback and career advocacy while handling skip-level and cross-team relationships responsibly.
- Day 22 Ask for Feedback You Can Use
- Day 23 Adapt Without Mind-Reading
- Day 24 Build Trust Across Disagreement
- Day 25 Use Skip-Levels Responsibly
- Day 26 Make Capacity and Tradeoffs Visible
- Day 27 Build an Update and Feedback Rhythm
Module 06
Your Managing-Up System
Combine working preferences, update cadence, decision briefs, boundaries, and escalation paths into a sustainable operating agreement.
- Day 28 Know When the Relationship Is Not Enough
- Day 29 Pressure-Test Your Managing-Up System
- Day 30 Your Managing-Up Agreement
How learning works
Read, listen, check your understanding, then keep going.
Short daily lessons
Each lesson is designed around about 10 minutes of focused learning.
Reading and audio
Read the lesson or play its audio when listening fits your day better.
Checks when useful
Lessons can use quizzes, written responses, or guided practice. A lesson can also teach without adding a forced exercise.
Progress and support
Track completed lessons, keep a streak, set reminders, and ask the in-lesson coach for help.
Know the limits. Cadence supports guided self-learning. It does not award an accredited degree or professional certificate, and important AI-generated claims should be checked against reliable sources.
Free to read first
Guides on the same skill.
No sign-up needed.
Part of a career skill path
See the guides and related courses.
Free to explore.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Who is Managing Up for Decisions for?
Every lesson connects to a conversation, decision, or habit you can change between lessons. It is listed in the management part of the Cadence course library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No formal prerequisites are required. The course is designed for guided self-learning, and it is most useful when you bring a real situation or goal to the lessons.
How long does the course take?
Managing Up for Decisions contains 30 lessons designed around 10 minutes each. You open lessons in sequence and can move at your own pace.
What is the learning format?
Lessons can be read or played as audio. The course includes quizzes or practical checks where the lesson calls for them, plus progress tracking and Ask Coach inside lessons.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Day 1: What Your Manager Needs to Decide
Get access and choose Managing Up for Decisions. Your first practical move is ready when you open the app.
Download Cadence free from the App Store, or request free Android testing access.