In an early episode of The Simpsons, Homer obtains a $1000 hair restorative by fiddling his employers' health insurance. The treatment is a success and overnight the formula does its stuff and he wakes with a full head of flowing locks. His new look gives off an aura of dynamism and he catches the eye of his boss, Mr Burns, who promotes him, much to the chagrin of Burns' jealous underling, Smithers.

Some time later, Mr Burns smugly announces that productivity is up and accidents are down since he promoted Homer. Smithers takes the gloss off this statement when he points out that productivity has gone up by the very same amount as it does when Homer takes his annual vacation, and accidents have fallen by the exact number that Homer himself was known or suspected to have caused over a similar period. This is Smithers managing upwards. In telling his boss that the assumptions he has made are wrong,

Some time later, Smithers looks into Homer's file and discovers the health insurance scam. He delights in telling Mr Burns of it and, when Burns orders him to summon Homer, we see Smithers managing downwards.

"Simpson! Mr Burns' office in one hour," he barks.

There is a clear difference in the way Smithers interacts with colleagues of different status. While he is almost apologetic in pointing out Mr Burns' misjudged assumptions, he is quite aggressive when dealing with those below him in the hierarchy of the power plant. This is not effective management, for it is true to say that if you want to make the job of managing upwards easier, be sure to manage downwards effectively.

Aggressive downward management, as demonstrated by Smithers, nurtures contempt and ill-will in the team; conditions that are not conducive to productivity. Ineffective downward management could lead to a slump in productivity, dissent among team members and even heated arguments. Incidents such as these make the task of managing upwards more difficult, as they reflect badly on the manager and questions will be asked about the morale of the team and their working environment. In short, the less bad news you have to relay to a senior colleague, the easier he or she is to manage.

A good downward manager will cultivate a healthy working relationship between himself and his team. This leads to improved morale and increased productivity, an environment in which problems are less likely to arise than in a tenser atmosphere. This makes the task of managing upwards considerably easier because the senior manager is quite satisfied with how the work is being carried out.

So try and strike a balance in which you manage upwards and downwards with equal effort. Remember that communication is a two way street and you should keep all parties updated of any developments.

In maintaining a solid line of communication with your manager and try to be proactive at all times. This will show that you are on the ball. It is far better that you tell your manager in advance of an upcoming problem than have him ask you why it happened.

A similar level of communication should be maintained with those in your charge. A team that is kept fully informed of developments within the project will function better than one where the feed of information is sporadic.

And even though you are technically 'above' them, never consider it beneath you to ask for help from your team. Seeking assistance when a problem arises is a demonstration of strength, not weakness. If you are faced with a problem that may slow the progress of the project, don't bear the burden alone simply because you are the manager, but share it with your team and invite suggestions on how to resolve it. It may be that someone comes up with an ideal solution, but even if this doesn't happen, the fact that you sought help from your team will increase their sense of involvement in the project and this will boost morale.

Managing downwards effectively can make the job of managing upwards easier. Maintaining good relations both up and down will maximise the likelihood of a project running to plan. Take the Smithers approach to downward management and your prospects will be as bare as Homer's head after the medication wore off.