My manager is too nice for the team’s good
Dear Moonshot,
I have an issue with my manager – she is the kind of person who doesn’t like confrontations, and she frequently caves in to pressure from other departments, resulting in more workload for our team. She is a great person and excellent at her work, but not so much as a manager. We are a small company, so we don’t have internal reviews. And I don’t know that it would be effective if we went above her head (as long as the deadlines are met, they don’t seem to care). Should I just start looking at relocating? I am getting great experience, but this is starting to become a problem, especially during Covid.
Going crazy…
What Moonshot would do?
Dear ‘Going crazy’,
I am almost sorry you like your manager because I believe your empathy is blocking you from dealing with the problem: deep down you feel for her and want to do your best to help her avoid confrontations. If you didn’t feel that you would not have an issue reacting…
Stop trying to help her by working more and trying to meet deadlines no matter what. Stop taking on more work as it comes in. Have the ambition of being very organised in your own duties, prioritize your work and time as you think is best for the job and your performance; next time she tries to make you ‘swallow’ more work from other departments, be prepared to present immediately the specific delay that this will represent to your department’s work.
For instance: ‘This will delay by two days our priority project ‘want to also survive’, are you sure you are OK with such a delay in our own work?’ and then stick to that delay, no matter what she says or does. If the delays keep pilling up, she will see for herself that this is not a sustainable solution.
You can also start by suggesting a system where you receive and consider requests only in writing – so that she can see the real workload and delays. And it is always easier to decline in writing than in person…
You say she is excellent in her work and a great person – I am sure that if she realizes the damage this does to her department’s performance, she will be more willing to react. At the end of the day, she should be more scared of a confrontation with her employer than her colleagues…
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