Praise Across Power

Praising direct reports is expected. Praising peers is powerful. Praising upward — naming your manager's actual strengths — is rare and useful. Most managers get criticism disguised as feedback, but almost never specific praise for a move that worked.

The trick is staying specific, or it reads as flattery. "I noticed how you reframed the client's objection — it turned the call around" lands because it names a move only someone paying attention would catch. Vague praise to a boss sounds like angling; specific praise sounds like respect.