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Manager-Tools,
I have recently found your wonderful podcast these have helped me greatly (listening to Dec 05).

I am from Wollongong Australia and work in a Medical Supply company.
I am not a manager, but I am expect to accept the fall out from bad decision making or lack of implementation of an SOP.

This is having a bad effect on my health and my family life.

Could you please tell me how I am suppose to behave and how to cope with drubbing that I receive if I don't do anything (which is not my responsibility) or if it is left too long and I do do something about it and get kicked in the process?

Can you also tell me how to communicate effectively to the management group to express my concerns to the people and their peers (other product managers)?

mstrunck's picture

Wow do I know this effect on your life. If you like your job despite of this, there is just one way through this in my opinion: Work effectively. You know what is right with respect to work, so the solution is near.

Your boss sounds a bit like mine, and if he is, then the thing to do is satisfy his needs. He sounds to me like a high D (and so am I), and if this is the case, then he will be in favour of short precise information, and he wants to see progress, and fast. If its not your responsibility, but you end up with a feeling that you should have done something, my suggestion would be to work out the things that it seems is expected from you.

If your boss wants to take all the decisions himself, then work out the solution, and present it to him so that he can take decision on the things you have worked out. It works with my boss (and me as well!) High D's have a natural preference to their own decisions and/or ways of doing things, so working something out, and giving it to the boss for him to implement as if it was his own idea will satisfy that need in your boss. And the beauty of it is, that it will also make you look good in the eyes of your boss, as you make things happen.

If your boss is like mine and myself, then graduately he will find that he can trust your decisions, and he will let you take more and more decisions by yourself. And by then the situation will seem better to you.

Your relationship with your boss is key, and Mark and Mike has put out a few podcasts on Managing your Boss that are really great for getting a better relationship with your boss, especially for a high D boss. It helped me working myself in the way they have advised (you can not actually manage your boss, but you can manage yourself with respect to him)

If it has already gone to far and there is irreparable damage to your relationship with your boss, there is really only one way to go in my opinion, and that is to start tapping your network for another job. You can not fix your boss, and should not try to do so. Letting him know that he is doing wrong with you will not work. After all you work for him, not the other way around.

Hope that helps.

/Max
DiSC: 7112

Mark's picture
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Nateh-

Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you're with us.

And, I'm sorry, but I just don't understand your specific situation. What do you do, and what behavior is your boss engaging in, SPECIFICALLY.

It's certainly possible that one of my recommendations is to quit, but I make that recommendation VERY delicately.

Mark

nateh's picture

Mark,
I am a medical equipment repairer and after sales support. I support both the Sales / Product management teams, in problem solving, installation and training.

One of my role under ISO 9001 (QA) is to write and update all of the installation, setup, training, and QA guides for each product (30 in total).

As a team (Sales and Service) we are supposed to take a few so the load is not on one person, but he will not enforce that the other member write and update these documents. On the other hand they are the first to criticise that the documents are not up to date.

So I made it a policy to set up a few hours over a few weeks to review the documents ......nope did not like the idea nor made an effort to even reply to the emails. I started a forum to upload and review documents, but they do not want to do this also, "but the documents are not done"

In the midst of all this we changed logos and I reassessed and compiled a new template but the prototype was rejected before it was looked at properly because it was not designed by them so it meant nothing.

NOTE: I have a young family and getting another job will take a while

So my questions are:

1) How do you tell them that you are not pleased with there behavior while being professional?

2) How do you cope with this behavior while being professional?

3) How do you bring your concerns to there management with out sounding like your having a dummy spit?

4) How can you implement a "code of conduct" / "operational procedures" that should be in place but is not for document writing?

nateh's picture

"he will find that he can trust your decisions"

Mstrunck,

Thank you for your kind word, I have taken out the most important part of what you have said.
He does not trust my judgment because I have "showed him up" and to his downfall his pride and controlling nature takes hold.

Nate

mstrunck's picture

Dear Nate,

I have found that the key to succes with my boss is changing my behaviours to match that, which is expected from my boss. And on the parts where he wants to take control, I let him take the control, by offering him the work to implement himself. That way he is in exactly the control he wants to be in, and at the same time I am making sure we get the progress that is expected of me.

And by doing this, I have found that my boss tendency to control my every action is getting smaller and smaller. And that feeling, for me, is great!

/Max

James Gutherson's picture

Sent you a PM with my phone number Nate.

James Gutherson's picture

Nateh - something I forgot to mention last night were some casts that you may not be up to yet.
[url=http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/10/the-peer-feedback-model] Peer Feedback[/url] and the [url=http://www.manager-tools.com/2007/11/how-to-prewire-a-meeting/] Prewire[/url] a Meeting cast for ideas about relationships and power