Maintain Neutrality Based On Competency & Capability

The most effective rule in managing up and down however, is being authentic. Authenticity in intent, that builds trust - because once this core factor is there, there is nothing that is required to be 'managed' in the natural order of things.

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Admiral Ernest J. King was mandated on a counter-offensive in response to the pearl harbour attack. Having received this mandate from President Roosevelt on December 21, 1941 he knew that the nearest land base was 2500 miles from Tokyo, out of range for any 1942 bomber.

The solution for the admiral (and upwards to the President) came from a subordinate - a captain name Francis Low, who proposed the near - impossible to have bombers fly out of a ship into Tokyo. Never applied in combat before, the twin-engine B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were capable of a flying-range of 2300 nautical miles with a bomb-weight of 2000 lbs. This was extremely high risk with tight tolerance figures. The flights, stripped of all additional weights and fitted with exceptional pilots (approximately 140 trained from the 17th bombardment group under Lt Col James Doolittle), set off from the USS Hornet to create what was historically one of the most successful executions of a near - impossible strategy.

Admiral King's ability to take in feedback from a subordinate and drive a strategic direction from the top, and through peers, was a classic example of successfully managing up and down. This, in the modern world and away from battlefield, is an increasingly required competence for any medium to critical - intensity mission/project.