A person who gives orders can be called a boss, director, manager, commander, leader, supervisor or even authority or chief.
More formal terms for a person who gives orders is director, commander, governor or dictator.
In a workplace you can call the person who gives orders a boss, supervisor or manager.
General terms for a person who gives orders who is guiding a group would be called a leader, chief or head.
And in military team settings a person who gives orders would be called a commander, captain or officer.
To professionally say higher ups, you can say "management", "superiors" or even "leadership".
Other professional ways of saying higher ups are "executives", "directors," or even "administrators".
The way to say higher ups professionally also depend on the context and level.
But when you say higher ups professionally, you should focus on using respectful and direct language and respect their time by getting straight to the point.
Instead of using higher ups, use specific titles like "Mr./Ms." (With their last name).
Or use director or upper management for clarity and professionalism.
General terms to use for saying higher ups professionally are directors, executives, administrators, superiors, leadership and management.
More specific terms for higher ups are department heads, senior leadership or the executive team.
Formal and Hierarchical terms for saying higher ups are The Board, The C-Suite for very senior levels.
To address higher ups when speaking to them, use their formal title and their last name, like for example, Director Smith, or Ms. Jones or their first name if the company culture allows you to.
For committees and groups you can use "The Leadership Team, Management or The Executives.
Always be direct and state your purpose and desired outcome upfront.
Be concise and respect the higher ups busy schedules, by avoiding unnecessary details.
Show respect and use polite language and a formal tone.
And listen actively and pay attention to their feedback and instructions.
Example phrases you can use when speaking to higher ups include.
I'll have to run this by the manager.
Before I proceed, I'll need to get approval from the directors.
Or I've cleared this with management.