Managing Up, Down, and Sideways as an IAM Leader

If you think leading an IAM program is just about technology, you’re already behind.

IAM leaders don’t just manage systems—they manage relationships. Because identity touches everything, you need buy-in from everyone. That means navigating personalities, power dynamics, and priorities across every layer of the organization.

The best IAM leaders understand this isn’t a one-directional job. You’ve got to lead up, down, and sideways to keep your program moving.

Managing Up: Speak the Language of Impact

When you manage up, you manage visibility, trust, and influence.

Your execs don’t need a breakdown of SCIM connectors or RBAC schema changes. They need to know:

• Is our identity program reducing risk?

• Are we hitting our goals on time and under budget?

• Is there anything I should be worried about before the board asks?

To lead up effectively:

• Report business outcomes (“Onboarding time down 40%,” “Two audit findings closed.”)

• Share only high-impact blockers (don’t bring problems—bring solutions or decisions to make).

• Keep communication tight and forward-looking (what’s next, and why it matters).

Managing up is about helping leadership feel confident that identity is under control, and strategic.

Managing Down: Build Autonomy with Guardrails

Your team needs more than Jira tickets and standups. They need context, ownership, and a sense of purpose.

To lead down well:

• Frame work in terms of mission, not just tasks. “We’re cleaning up access for Finance” becomes “We’re reducing risk to financial systems before audit season.”

• Empower your team to make decisions—but define clear guardrails. What’s negotiable? What’s non-negotiable?

• Make space for learning and iteration. Identity work isn’t perfect. Reward thoughtful experimentation.

Great IAM teams aren’t just efficient—they’re engaged and aligned to the bigger picture.

Managing Sideways: Influence Without Authority

You need allies in Security, HR, IT, and Application teams. The problem? You don’t manage them, but you need them to care about identity.

To lead sideways:

• Map shared goals. If HR wants faster onboarding, position your IAM goals as their enablers.

• Speak their language. Don’t talk about entitlements—talk about access friction, support tickets, and security posture.

• Be the connector, not the enforcer. Set up regular syncs. Ask what they need. Share how IAM can help.

Most IAM programs stall not because of tech—but because of unresolved cross-team tension. Get good at the political part, and the technical part becomes way easier.

Influence is a Skillset

IAM leaders live at the intersection of security, operations, compliance, and user experience. That’s a lot of tension. But it’s also a lot of opportunity.

When you master the art of leading in all directions, you stop being the person who “owns the identity tool”—and start being the leader who makes identity work across the business.

Double Bonus This Week!

The next and final post in the series will drop this Thursday: The IAM Leadership Mindset—vision, patience, and pressure. (It’s a Jedi-level skill.)

With Identiverse fast approaching, I had to change up the content schedule. So you’ll be getting two blog posts this week, one next week, and off the week of Memorial Day as we prepare for the Identity Superbowl..lol.