Most overt and intentional "managing up" is a waste of time at best and often runs counter to the organization's goals.
By this, I mean when you decide on your drive into work "Today, I'm going to manage up" or block it on your calendar. I don't mean doing a naturally good job and keeping your boss informed of what's going on, figuring out how to best help the company achieve its goals, etc. That's the productive version, but it's 1% of the usage of that phrase IME.
Most of "managing up" ranges from pure politics to useless paperwork to ass-kissing.
What gets measured gets done. If higher levels of management measure politics and ass-kissing and useless paperwork then that's what goes down when "managing up." And of course there are plenty of organizations where that's a big chunk of what gets measured. People who value those things tend to strive for management positions.
There are some where it isn't. In those "managing up" can mean something else and management tracks can attract and keep people interested in creating that other meaning.
