Micromanaging isn't quite the word...
October 4, 2016 9:58 PM Subscribe
My manager gets defensive when they come into contact with parts of my work they don't know how to replicate and acts as though I've caused A Problem. Help?
I work as a teapot analyst under a Teapot Manager who's done many things related to teapots but not teapot analysis itself. Perhaps they've matrix-managed teapot analysts in the past, but in any case I don't think they've needed to have a lot of contact with analysts' work until recently. I have relatively strong technical skills for a teapot analyst, compared to the rest of our team. Teapot Manager likes to be intimately involved in our work - this is good, in theory. The problem, though, is that they're not comfortable with technology and gets annoyed when they can't easily replicate our work - say using something like filtering a worksheet in Excel. If Teapot Manager can't figure out how to do something, they get angry and agitated and tell us that our solution is impossible. The other teapot analysts sometimes ask me for help with teapot analysis approaches; they're happy to find new and more efficient ways to do their work, but if they incorporate these approaches into their work and can't fully explain them, Teapot Manager gets annoyed with me and says that I lack the context to solve my colleagues' problems*.
This is kind of a change for me as I've previously had line managers who either had experience doing a job similar to mine and/or have been managers for so long that they've picked up a lot of stuff through osmosis. These previous managers have understood the methodological concerns and at most wanted a high-level explanation from me, but not much more than that. The times I've worked for people with a tendency to micromanage were a bit different, but they've never held their direct reports responsible for issues like this.
This situation makes me feel like my technical skills are a liability even though they're probably why I was brought onto the team. The people who do particularly well with Teapot Manager are those who focus on teapot-related work that is closest to what Teapot Manager used to specialize in. My skill set leaves me as the odd one out, some egghead number-cruncher who risks getting marked as lacking in soft skills because I do work that's a bit foreign to Teapot Manager.
1) Is dialling back on the technical complexity* of my work the only solution here?
2) I know I can't change Teapot Manager's tendencies, but does your line manager really need to know how to do 100% of your job?
3) I don't need a line manager who knows how to talk shop the same way I do - that said, is what's going on here reasonable?
*Mind you, we're talking about Excel functions here, not revamping business processes.
I work as a teapot analyst under a Teapot Manager who's done many things related to teapots but not teapot analysis itself. Perhaps they've matrix-managed teapot analysts in the past, but in any case I don't think they've needed to have a lot of contact with analysts' work until recently. I have relatively strong technical skills for a teapot analyst, compared to the rest of our team. Teapot Manager likes to be intimately involved in our work - this is good, in theory. The problem, though, is that they're not comfortable with technology and gets annoyed when they can't easily replicate our work - say using something like filtering a worksheet in Excel. If Teapot Manager can't figure out how to do something, they get angry and agitated and tell us that our solution is impossible. The other teapot analysts sometimes ask me for help with teapot analysis approaches; they're happy to find new and more efficient ways to do their work, but if they incorporate these approaches into their work and can't fully explain them, Teapot Manager gets annoyed with me and says that I lack the context to solve my colleagues' problems*.
This is kind of a change for me as I've previously had line managers who either had experience doing a job similar to mine and/or have been managers for so long that they've picked up a lot of stuff through osmosis. These previous managers have understood the methodological concerns and at most wanted a high-level explanation from me, but not much more than that. The times I've worked for people with a tendency to micromanage were a bit different, but they've never held their direct reports responsible for issues like this.
This situation makes me feel like my technical skills are a liability even though they're probably why I was brought onto the team. The people who do particularly well with Teapot Manager are those who focus on teapot-related work that is closest to what Teapot Manager used to specialize in. My skill set leaves me as the odd one out, some egghead number-cruncher who risks getting marked as lacking in soft skills because I do work that's a bit foreign to Teapot Manager.
1) Is dialling back on the technical complexity* of my work the only solution here?
2) I know I can't change Teapot Manager's tendencies, but does your line manager really need to know how to do 100% of your job?
3) I don't need a line manager who knows how to talk shop the same way I do - that said, is what's going on here reasonable?
*Mind you, we're talking about Excel functions here, not revamping business processes.
I've had this experience many times (including trying to teach my coworkers Excel and them never really getting it, and other similar stuff) and I think it's just bad management personality. They feel insecure if something is happening on their behalf that they don't understand.
If you can't get a new manager you have to make this one a little happier. Try to keep things simple for them. Stop helping your colleagues unless what you're doing is dead simple (or maybe you can find a tutorial online or something). Anyway, as obnoxious and stupid as this behavior is, there's something to be said for not spreading around complicated formulas & whatnot that nobody else can understand.
posted by bleep at 10:14 PM on October 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
If you can't get a new manager you have to make this one a little happier. Try to keep things simple for them. Stop helping your colleagues unless what you're doing is dead simple (or maybe you can find a tutorial online or something). Anyway, as obnoxious and stupid as this behavior is, there's something to be said for not spreading around complicated formulas & whatnot that nobody else can understand.
posted by bleep at 10:14 PM on October 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yeah. You're going to have a bad time here with this manager. Your advanced technical knowledge is a form of power that your manager would rather that nobody have inless it's only themselves. What you are experiencing is a form of power struggle with your manager that only you can lose and almost certainly will. Probably time to find another manager who can appreciate what you have to offer with your skills.
posted by Gosha_Dog at 10:34 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Gosha_Dog at 10:34 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
No answers here, just some questions that may/may be applicable.
Did this manager personally select you for the team or were you assigned to the project without his/her input? If something goes wrong with the teapot project, what consequences will your manager face? More to the point, who will bear the blame (in the eyes of the higher ups) if the failure of the project turns out to be primarily due to an error in the analysis?
Asking these questions because I'm wondering if this is less about your boss not trusting methods of analysis that he/she is not familiar with and more about the need to know that you know what you're doing. If this is the case, perhaps you could address this directly, i.e., ask what you can do to demonstrate that you can be trusted; offer examples of how your work contributed to similar projects.
posted by she's not there at 1:11 AM on October 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
Did this manager personally select you for the team or were you assigned to the project without his/her input? If something goes wrong with the teapot project, what consequences will your manager face? More to the point, who will bear the blame (in the eyes of the higher ups) if the failure of the project turns out to be primarily due to an error in the analysis?
Asking these questions because I'm wondering if this is less about your boss not trusting methods of analysis that he/she is not familiar with and more about the need to know that you know what you're doing. If this is the case, perhaps you could address this directly, i.e., ask what you can do to demonstrate that you can be trusted; offer examples of how your work contributed to similar projects.
posted by she's not there at 1:11 AM on October 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm dying to read the answers here and want to add: my team also recently got our 4th (in 1.5 years) supervisor who is behaving the same as yours, except this is education.
So our district has spent a lot of money to integrate technology which our new Teapot Manager does not understand ("I don't know how to Google" literally came from her mouth yesterday), nor does she WANT to understand, so not only does she have the entire team reverting back to using paper for everything but she will only respond to emails to tell us when to come to her office and talk face to face. Our new boss won't email.
One thing that I'm trying and isn't helping (but should, dammit) is I demonstrate results and don't get into the tech part where she freezes and shuts me down. I show her how using a certain Google Form created user-friendly reports and saved her overburdened teachers time. In theory this should work but I've got someone who doubles down when out of her depth, but this may work for you. They may not want to know HOW a thing is effective, just that you can demonstrate it IS effective.
The other real suggestion I have for you is to try to have interactions with her over email (especially when discussing processes and procedures) and document EVERYTHING.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 2:41 AM on October 5, 2016
So our district has spent a lot of money to integrate technology which our new Teapot Manager does not understand ("I don't know how to Google" literally came from her mouth yesterday), nor does she WANT to understand, so not only does she have the entire team reverting back to using paper for everything but she will only respond to emails to tell us when to come to her office and talk face to face. Our new boss won't email.
One thing that I'm trying and isn't helping (but should, dammit) is I demonstrate results and don't get into the tech part where she freezes and shuts me down. I show her how using a certain Google Form created user-friendly reports and saved her overburdened teachers time. In theory this should work but I've got someone who doubles down when out of her depth, but this may work for you. They may not want to know HOW a thing is effective, just that you can demonstrate it IS effective.
The other real suggestion I have for you is to try to have interactions with her over email (especially when discussing processes and procedures) and document EVERYTHING.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 2:41 AM on October 5, 2016
Response by poster: Don't want to threadsit, but I want to quickly address some questions:
-Teapot Manager personally selected me for their team, familiar with my work product but never really having engaged me on how it's done.
-The teapot analysts, historically, will bear most of the responsibility for errors. In general, though, Teapot Manager has trouble communicating the hiccups and caveats of teapot work to their higher-ups. FWIW, we don't have the types of projects that can fail in a way that's public, per se.
-Interacting with Teapot Manager over email can be difficult because they have a tendency to make negative assumptions about tone. Also, one never knows what Teapot Manager's mood will be like when they've received an email, so most people in the know here will deal with them face-to-face to better manage their emotions.
posted by blerghamot at 2:59 AM on October 5, 2016
-Teapot Manager personally selected me for their team, familiar with my work product but never really having engaged me on how it's done.
-The teapot analysts, historically, will bear most of the responsibility for errors. In general, though, Teapot Manager has trouble communicating the hiccups and caveats of teapot work to their higher-ups. FWIW, we don't have the types of projects that can fail in a way that's public, per se.
-Interacting with Teapot Manager over email can be difficult because they have a tendency to make negative assumptions about tone. Also, one never knows what Teapot Manager's mood will be like when they've received an email, so most people in the know here will deal with them face-to-face to better manage their emotions.
posted by blerghamot at 2:59 AM on October 5, 2016
Can you volunteer to give your manager a couple informal trainings in your Advanced Technical Skills? If you can cover "how I solve this kind of problem," you might get some more trust.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:09 AM on October 5, 2016
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:09 AM on October 5, 2016
Best answer: They sound like a bad manager, but a legitimate concern that may be fueling their actions is that if you're introducing advanced techniques that no one else in the department can understand, they're in a bad spot if you quit or get hit by a bus. Similarly, if other people are using techniques but not fully understanding them, it can lead to making mistakes and not detecting them, because they don't have enough knowledge to detect when the process has gone off the rails. Being the head of a cargo cult is a scary place to be.
They sound problematic in general, so personally I'd start looking elsewhere, but in the meantime, are the other analysts on your team capable of learning more if you spend some time doing dedicated education? Is that something that you could get backing for?
posted by Candleman at 4:20 AM on October 5, 2016 [9 favorites]
They sound problematic in general, so personally I'd start looking elsewhere, but in the meantime, are the other analysts on your team capable of learning more if you spend some time doing dedicated education? Is that something that you could get backing for?
posted by Candleman at 4:20 AM on October 5, 2016 [9 favorites]
I was thinking along a similar line to Candleman. My suggestion would be whether documentation of the processes would help? Can you have a wiki, or a sheet in your Excel that explains the techniques you are using so another analyst would be able to reconstruct your methods? This would be good practice anyway, but it may also reassure Teapot Manager that the work is under control, and give them ammunition if there is a problem ("we followed a well documented process...")
posted by crocomancer at 4:44 AM on October 5, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by crocomancer at 4:44 AM on October 5, 2016 [7 favorites]
I would go whole hog and start running my "Teapot analyses" in R just to really confuse them. They can't understand filtering in excel? They sound like they need some pretty rudimentary basic excel training.
I'd start looking for other jobs elsewhere and start dropping hints on beginners excel and continual repetition of the phrase "Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it is wrong" but I doubt that would get you far with this manager, hence looking for other jobs.
posted by koolkat at 5:03 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'd start looking for other jobs elsewhere and start dropping hints on beginners excel and continual repetition of the phrase "Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it is wrong" but I doubt that would get you far with this manager, hence looking for other jobs.
posted by koolkat at 5:03 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The issue comes down to what is the root cause of your manager's fear of your technical skills.
If they're a poor manager, they're frightened of things they don't understand, and their main aim in life is to survive the working day without too much drama, then nothing you can say or do is going to move them.
However, if they are actually interested in being progressive and embracing new ideas to move the business forward, but they're nervous about doing it (a fear they may not be willing or able to express), you may be able to improve your situation through an emotionally intelligent approach.
You could for example go to your manager and say, 'Hey I know you're concerned that some of the techniques I've used in Excel are not fully understood by the team, and I have been thinking about that. What if I ran a session for the entire team to get up to speed on some of the more advanced functions? I think it could have a big productivity gain for the group.'
Important factors in this approach:
- The manager's concerns are accepted as legit (even if you think they're not), which is reassuring to them
- You take the focus off their lack of knowledge and side it onto the team, but the manager themselves can attend the training to understand what's going on
- You talk about 'advanced functions' to make it seem like the lack of understanding is perfectly understandable, as it were
If that doesn't fly, you're probably in the first scenario, i.e. they simply don't want to improve. If that's the case, the only options are learning to live with it or finding a new job.
Good luck!
posted by StephenF at 7:11 AM on October 5, 2016 [7 favorites]
If they're a poor manager, they're frightened of things they don't understand, and their main aim in life is to survive the working day without too much drama, then nothing you can say or do is going to move them.
However, if they are actually interested in being progressive and embracing new ideas to move the business forward, but they're nervous about doing it (a fear they may not be willing or able to express), you may be able to improve your situation through an emotionally intelligent approach.
You could for example go to your manager and say, 'Hey I know you're concerned that some of the techniques I've used in Excel are not fully understood by the team, and I have been thinking about that. What if I ran a session for the entire team to get up to speed on some of the more advanced functions? I think it could have a big productivity gain for the group.'
Important factors in this approach:
- The manager's concerns are accepted as legit (even if you think they're not), which is reassuring to them
- You take the focus off their lack of knowledge and side it onto the team, but the manager themselves can attend the training to understand what's going on
- You talk about 'advanced functions' to make it seem like the lack of understanding is perfectly understandable, as it were
If that doesn't fly, you're probably in the first scenario, i.e. they simply don't want to improve. If that's the case, the only options are learning to live with it or finding a new job.
Good luck!
posted by StephenF at 7:11 AM on October 5, 2016 [7 favorites]
I would focus on having short verbal explanation "scripts" that you repeat enough times around your coworkers that they start being convinced that they understand your methodology. If you can get your coworkers on your side, delighted at the time they're saving and willing to defend it to the manager, things will cease to be specifically about you.
posted by aimedwander at 7:13 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by aimedwander at 7:13 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
You could consider this as a challenge but a personal development opportunity. You sound like you are by far the best member of the team at Teapot Analysis. However, you also sound like you think of yourself primarily as an individual contributor.
What if you think of this as a senior mentoring role to bring everyone up closer to your level? You said your doing coaching but if you view it that way bringing along defensive students and making sure everyone can explain the techniques as well becomes and additional part of your role, instead of "their problem". Doing this is tough (and with the wrong students impossible) but that's part of the point. Really the whole point, since you won't get paid for the extra work. You're practicing a tough skill that may be satisfying to get good at and/or valuable later.
Specific strategies for dealing with the manager might be understanding the root of the concern, limiting the number of new techniques you use at a time, promising to coach & document for others, and always tone that inspires confidence.and excitement in the ability of everyone to use the techniques. Things like organizing a series of peer-led trainings with other solid people can help keep everyone involved.
None of this is to say your manager is being a good manager in his approach, and it's OK to decide that's too much work to "cover" for him. OTOH working with a weak manager is a business skill no less than working with a mediocre colleague or managing a challenging employee.
posted by mark k at 7:27 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
What if you think of this as a senior mentoring role to bring everyone up closer to your level? You said your doing coaching but if you view it that way bringing along defensive students and making sure everyone can explain the techniques as well becomes and additional part of your role, instead of "their problem". Doing this is tough (and with the wrong students impossible) but that's part of the point. Really the whole point, since you won't get paid for the extra work. You're practicing a tough skill that may be satisfying to get good at and/or valuable later.
Specific strategies for dealing with the manager might be understanding the root of the concern, limiting the number of new techniques you use at a time, promising to coach & document for others, and always tone that inspires confidence.and excitement in the ability of everyone to use the techniques. Things like organizing a series of peer-led trainings with other solid people can help keep everyone involved.
None of this is to say your manager is being a good manager in his approach, and it's OK to decide that's too much work to "cover" for him. OTOH working with a weak manager is a business skill no less than working with a mediocre colleague or managing a challenging employee.
posted by mark k at 7:27 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Seconding that you ask the manager for some specific time to teach your colleagues and manager the finer points of your analysis. Call it a "lunch and learn" or "sharing skills session". Teaching someone a specific concept can help you as much as it can help them and it may also let you know where they are stumbling. I think it would be best to have both your manager and your peers in there, though. If the manager sees your peers learning the concept and using it successfully, they may get more comfortable with it.
Do you have any quality control? I was in the same situation and it drove me crazy that no one else checked my work. Perhaps that would also put your manager's mind at ease.
Lastly, when explaining concepts, be sure not to talk down to anyone and also don't gloss over how complicated they can be. Teaching someone who is not understanding can be really difficult, but it is much easier when they trust you. This all boils down to a trust issue, as you have hinted. Many successful leaders cannot do the job their teams do but they can still lead because they trust their teams.
posted by soelo at 8:16 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Do you have any quality control? I was in the same situation and it drove me crazy that no one else checked my work. Perhaps that would also put your manager's mind at ease.
Lastly, when explaining concepts, be sure not to talk down to anyone and also don't gloss over how complicated they can be. Teaching someone who is not understanding can be really difficult, but it is much easier when they trust you. This all boils down to a trust issue, as you have hinted. Many successful leaders cannot do the job their teams do but they can still lead because they trust their teams.
posted by soelo at 8:16 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
This sounds like a great time to play Blame the Technology!
Wrong: I am using advanced functions and you don't understand them.
Right: Excel sucks. It's so counterintuitive. Look at this - to get it to do X, you have to do Y & Z. I was really surprised to learn that (explanation of how excel functions), etc, etc.
If your manager gets uncomfortable and weird when he doesn't understand something, you just have to work around it. If it becomes normal to blame the technology then the manager won't start blaming himself for not understanding the nuts and bolts. Once people get defensive they become dumb. If you can keep him out of defensiveness, then you can probably help him learn enough about the trickier functions that he chills out a bit.
posted by selfmedicating at 8:52 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Wrong: I am using advanced functions and you don't understand them.
Right: Excel sucks. It's so counterintuitive. Look at this - to get it to do X, you have to do Y & Z. I was really surprised to learn that (explanation of how excel functions), etc, etc.
If your manager gets uncomfortable and weird when he doesn't understand something, you just have to work around it. If it becomes normal to blame the technology then the manager won't start blaming himself for not understanding the nuts and bolts. Once people get defensive they become dumb. If you can keep him out of defensiveness, then you can probably help him learn enough about the trickier functions that he chills out a bit.
posted by selfmedicating at 8:52 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
I've been in your manager's situation, supervising someone whose technical skills far exceeded mine. I am no technophobe, but this situation can be nerve wracking, because I have no way to spot if you've made a mistake (and not nearly enough time available to raise my technical skills that would be needed to do so). In my case, several factors made it worse (1) there was no-one else around with sufficient skills to QA the person's work (2) the person had a somewhat inflated view of their non-technical skills, which concerned me because it meant that I was wary of their judgement calls and assumptions that underpinned the analysis, and (3) the person was not good at owning up when they made a mistake that I needed to be aware of. If any of those apply to your situation, trying to mitigate them might help.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 11:29 AM on October 5, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by une_heure_pleine at 11:29 AM on October 5, 2016 [8 favorites]
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