how to handle ...
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
Get a new job. Seriously! :doh:
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Me, all the time -
A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
That's hard. Get a new job would be the best advice, I guess? :doh:
Don't mind those people who say you're not HOT. At least you know you're COOL. I'm not afraid of falling, I'm afraid of the sudden stop at the end of the fall! - Richard Andrew x64
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
A few years ago our team was assigned to a new manager, so our manager was now under a manager and we were all still under the original bloke. The new manager wanted to know about everything, so our manager gave him everything, absolutely everything, completely tied him up so he couldn't do any of his existing work. He soon backed off.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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A few years ago our team was assigned to a new manager, so our manager was now under a manager and we were all still under the original bloke. The new manager wanted to know about everything, so our manager gave him everything, absolutely everything, completely tied him up so he couldn't do any of his existing work. He soon backed off.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
:thumbsup: that guy underestimated the word 'everything'..
Don't mind those people who say you're not HOT. At least you know you're COOL. I'm not afraid of falling, I'm afraid of the sudden stop at the end of the fall! - Richard Andrew x64
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A few years ago our team was assigned to a new manager, so our manager was now under a manager and we were all still under the original bloke. The new manager wanted to know about everything, so our manager gave him everything, absolutely everything, completely tied him up so he couldn't do any of his existing work. He soon backed off.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
Fire back with obfuscation. If he can make a buzzword jungle, you can also make a buzzword jungle. And I'm hella sure that he most likely will be unable to decide anything if you do it right. Otherwise, use the word "No", something that I do often when I talk to our manager. If you simply answer "No", he most likely wants to know why not, and give you time and his patience to explain.
I will never again mention that Dalek Dave was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel.
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Fire back with obfuscation. If he can make a buzzword jungle, you can also make a buzzword jungle. And I'm hella sure that he most likely will be unable to decide anything if you do it right. Otherwise, use the word "No", something that I do often when I talk to our manager. If you simply answer "No", he most likely wants to know why not, and give you time and his patience to explain.
I will never again mention that Dalek Dave was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel.
Marco Bertschi wrote:
use the word "No"
tried that... :sigh: In this particular situation I just stopped working on the project, but I have another one coming up, which will not be as easy to get out off... In this case he just ignored my "no" and asked another minion to do it as he wants. (without consulting first)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
I doubt your manager is standing over your shoulder telling you what keys to press.
V. wrote:
Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense.
So presumably this person is asking you to do something in a specific way and then when you ask him why he is attempting to explain it. Which at least suggests he isn't completely unreasonable. For example he could just scream at you to shut up when you opened your mouth. There are of course several possibilities for this scenario. 1. What he is asking just will not work. 2. What he is asking will work but it isn't the way that you want to do it. 3. What he is asking will work but your method is 'better' is some objective way (objective meaning that you can actually measure something, produce a numerical result and show that the number is better for your solution than his.) If you cannot in fact produce objective data then it is #2. If it was in fact #1/#3 then I would ask for email confirmation and then keep copies of the email somewhere that was not work. If it is #2 then then this isn't a technology problem.
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I doubt your manager is standing over your shoulder telling you what keys to press.
V. wrote:
Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense.
So presumably this person is asking you to do something in a specific way and then when you ask him why he is attempting to explain it. Which at least suggests he isn't completely unreasonable. For example he could just scream at you to shut up when you opened your mouth. There are of course several possibilities for this scenario. 1. What he is asking just will not work. 2. What he is asking will work but it isn't the way that you want to do it. 3. What he is asking will work but your method is 'better' is some objective way (objective meaning that you can actually measure something, produce a numerical result and show that the number is better for your solution than his.) If you cannot in fact produce objective data then it is #2. If it was in fact #1/#3 then I would ask for email confirmation and then keep copies of the email somewhere that was not work. If it is #2 then then this isn't a technology problem.
jschell wrote:
If it is #2 then then this isn't a technology problem.
:thumbsup:
Quad skating his way through the world since the early 80's... Booger Mobile - My bright green 1964 Ford Falcon - check out the blog here!! | If you feel generous - make a donation to Camp Quality!!
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
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I doubt your manager is standing over your shoulder telling you what keys to press.
V. wrote:
Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense.
So presumably this person is asking you to do something in a specific way and then when you ask him why he is attempting to explain it. Which at least suggests he isn't completely unreasonable. For example he could just scream at you to shut up when you opened your mouth. There are of course several possibilities for this scenario. 1. What he is asking just will not work. 2. What he is asking will work but it isn't the way that you want to do it. 3. What he is asking will work but your method is 'better' is some objective way (objective meaning that you can actually measure something, produce a numerical result and show that the number is better for your solution than his.) If you cannot in fact produce objective data then it is #2. If it was in fact #1/#3 then I would ask for email confirmation and then keep copies of the email somewhere that was not work. If it is #2 then then this isn't a technology problem.
Unfortunately it is not that simple. * Yes, I could live with a micro-manager if it was for a few weeks or even months, but the next project will probably be years. * If it is #2 then this isn't a technology problem. It isn't a technology problem, what gave you that idea? it is a problem of responsibility, communication, work satisfaction, etc... * If you cannot in fact produce objective data then it is #2. I can produce objective data, but one needs to listen to the arguments first. Imagine having a discussion with someone and you throw arguments at one another (like any normal discussion). Now imagine that the other guy dismisses ALL of your arguments as "not being a real argument" and throws arguments at you "that are real arguments". You need two way communication to reach consensus. * I doubt your manager is standing over your shoulder telling you what keys to press. Not literally no, but I have the impression you haven't encountered a real micro-manager yet. The "breathing down your neck" feeling is quite real I assure you. * So presumably this person is asking you to do something in a specific way it is more a matter of "how specific". My work is rendered useless and he has to do twice the work because A: he needs to check my work, B: he redoes the work. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
From experience there are two options: 0. Get a new job as soon as possible; if not sooner. 1. Get a LARGE SH!TTY STICK and beat the bastard until he gives in. Then do #0. Hope this helps. :-D
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From experience there are two options: 0. Get a new job as soon as possible; if not sooner. 1. Get a LARGE SH!TTY STICK and beat the bastard until he gives in. Then do #0. Hope this helps. :-D
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
Obligatory Dilbert[^] But don't follow this one[^]
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
Kill them. You'll feel much better afterwards.
Regards, Rob Philpott.
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Unfortunately it is not that simple. * Yes, I could live with a micro-manager if it was for a few weeks or even months, but the next project will probably be years. * If it is #2 then this isn't a technology problem. It isn't a technology problem, what gave you that idea? it is a problem of responsibility, communication, work satisfaction, etc... * If you cannot in fact produce objective data then it is #2. I can produce objective data, but one needs to listen to the arguments first. Imagine having a discussion with someone and you throw arguments at one another (like any normal discussion). Now imagine that the other guy dismisses ALL of your arguments as "not being a real argument" and throws arguments at you "that are real arguments". You need two way communication to reach consensus. * I doubt your manager is standing over your shoulder telling you what keys to press. Not literally no, but I have the impression you haven't encountered a real micro-manager yet. The "breathing down your neck" feeling is quite real I assure you. * So presumably this person is asking you to do something in a specific way it is more a matter of "how specific". My work is rendered useless and he has to do twice the work because A: he needs to check my work, B: he redoes the work. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
V. wrote:
can produce objective data...You need two way communication to reach consensus.
I would find it simply amazing that if there are 10 technological decisions a day that you can produce objective measurements for even say 8 of them in such a way that it is relevant to the business and the product. For example one might feel that one sorting algorithm is 'better' than another. But unless one can actually demonstrate both a significant and measurable impact on the application then the merits of which is 'better' is pointless. And sorting algorithms are very small, very contained and well studied for years. In my experience the vast majority of technology decisions are not only not based on objective data but there is in fact no realistic way to get such data. And in a non-trivial number of cases it is possible that even with a large budget and a large amount of time no one could ever even figure out how to measure the difference for some decisions. So when someone insists on a different methodology for a task then unless I know for a fact that it will not work then I just do it that way. Because it often is good enough.
V. wrote:
Not literally no, but I have the impression you haven't encountered a real micro-manager yet.
I had a manager that decided they needed to teach me the basics of Object Oriented programming (this was after I had been doing it for 15 years.) That individual also expected me to create several sub-systems but seemed incapable of telling me what the sub-systems were supposed to do. After two failed starts at that I started doing summaries via emails which he would agree to and that is where I came up with my suggestion of keeping emails. (He left the company after a year and I stayed with it much longer.) I had another manager who gave 6 projects over 12 weeks. At the end of about every two weeks I delivered what I thought he had asked for. Each time he told me I had gotten it wrong and then he provided an explanation of another different project that he explained what had been what I was really supposed to be doing. Wish I had thought of the written description trick then. (Of course that same job I was slotted in to do C even though I was told I would be doing C++ and I was doing it on a main frame for which I had no experience. And it was obvious they needed the experience I would have brought for their C++ projects.)
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
Let email be your sidekick. He says 'do it like this, and this, and this" You say " but it would be better like that, and that, and this will cause problems" He says "waffle waffle, do it my way." Smile sweetly, return to desk. email him with "Just wanted to confirm that, rather than doing that and that, we are going to do this and this, although I am still concerned about the problem I think may happen." Try to CC in someone else - doesn't really matter too much who it is. And try to make the wording as positive as possible - you're doing everything you can to make what he wants to do work. Can even be a co-worker jsut to let them know your doing to do it This way instead of That way. Now, if he's an idiot, he gets worried - as if his method causes the problem you mentioned, you've already dais "told you so". If it works as he said it would, you're still covered. If he's not an idiot, and you are wrong and he is right, then you're in trouble!
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Let email be your sidekick. He says 'do it like this, and this, and this" You say " but it would be better like that, and that, and this will cause problems" He says "waffle waffle, do it my way." Smile sweetly, return to desk. email him with "Just wanted to confirm that, rather than doing that and that, we are going to do this and this, although I am still concerned about the problem I think may happen." Try to CC in someone else - doesn't really matter too much who it is. And try to make the wording as positive as possible - you're doing everything you can to make what he wants to do work. Can even be a co-worker jsut to let them know your doing to do it This way instead of That way. Now, if he's an idiot, he gets worried - as if his method causes the problem you mentioned, you've already dais "told you so". If it works as he said it would, you're still covered. If he's not an idiot, and you are wrong and he is right, then you're in trouble!
_Maxxx_ wrote:
If he's not an idiot, and you are wrong and he is right, then you're in trouble!
Actually, he´s really, really smart, but not in my domain ;) . I'm talking Sheldon smart. In fact, the number of similarities just brought a smile on my face. Thank you for that. :-D But I managed a talk with the bossman soon. Hope I can fix it that way, else I will indeed make sure to take my hands of any responsibility.
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
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A micro-manager. Seriously, it's like talking to a brick wall. You're reduced in being nothing more than a secretary, typing in dictaded words. Every initiative or even questioning the logic to be followed is met with a crossfire of useless arguments and buzz words that don't make sense. And when you try to openly challenge and/or constructively solve the situation it's like opening Pandora's box. Even worse is that escalating the situation higher up is met with a "don't care, don't want to know" attitude. :doh: any good advice on this is appreciated :)
V.
(MQOTD rules and previous solutions)OriginalGriff wrote:
V is absolutely right
V. wrote:
any good advice on this is appreciated
"Consider it done" is the reply to use. There is no compromise on you, leaves all to the imagination of the micromanager... you never said when or how but still sounds like a goal has been set. He/she can imagine a lot or little, doesn't matter. Most likely when the time would have come up to assess the progress on that given task, something else will be priority. Hey, consider that done too! :cool: -- RP
