What if I'm better at managing up than managing my team?

You have mastered the relationship with the people above you. You read them, you deliver, you shine in their eyes. But turn around and face your own team, and you know the truth, you are not as good there, and the system has been rewarding you for the wrong half of the job. This is more common than you think, because managing up gets seen and managing down often does not. Your leaders notice your polish. Your team feels your absence. But the fact that you can name this so clearly means you already have the awareness most people lack. The skill you have used upward, attention, care, reading the person, is the same skill your team needs from you. This week, give your team the quality of attention you usually save for your boss. Have a real one-to-one where you ask what they need from you and listen. Turn some of that upward energy downward. You do not need to become a different person. You need to point the strength you already have in the direction it has been neglecting.