Management Rant...

[Unicorn]

This is our world. Job tracker must always be updated so managers in an office you never see are able to watch and phone your supervisor to ask why you have assigned so many hours to jobs etc.

There's a simple way to combat it. Always under estimate your own work so when more is done it looks better, never push too hard or its always expected too. If I do 10 jobs in a day it will be expected tomorrow I can do 11 which won't happen

 

[Rroff]

Can you not just agree and fail to produce the report? Works for me

Heh - had this before with a new manager - wanted a print out of this, a print out of that, etc. at specific times with specific information. After a week or so just stopped doing it and never heard any more about it.

There's a simple way to combat it. Always under estimate your own work so when more is done it looks better, never push too hard or its always expected too. If I do 10 jobs in a day it will be expected tomorrow I can do 11 which won't happen

Something I learnt the hard way - go the extra mile, come in on your days off because of an emergency, etc. and suddenly its expected of you as the new normal. I've walked from more than one job due to that.

 

[Varwen]

There's a simple way to combat it. Always under estimate your own work so when more is done it looks better, never push too hard or its always expected too. If I do 10 jobs in a day it will be expected tomorrow I can do 11 which won't happen

This is the "Scotty factor" - see here: http://wiki.c2.com/?ScottyFactor

I hope you need have to work in an Agile environment, where you have to do this daily!

Yes, I work for a fledgeling healthtech startup, and we're rapidly prototyping and implementing new features. We work extremely fast and have a fair bit of freedom in our work, so the daily stand ups just to check we're not all headed in different directions is definitely a net positive. If it wasn't, you bet it'd be made a fuss of in a weekly retrospective and an alternative plan trialled the week after...

IMO I'd just see how the reports go for a few weeks - if it's a constant drain on time and output is suffering because of it, it looks just as bad on your manager if his department is failing. You'd at least have a more concrete case to put forward if that's how it pans out!

 

[slinxy]

To be honest you don't exactly sound like the easiest person to manage if this is your response. It's easy to take a back seat and criticise, yet admittley wouldn't have the cohones to manage yourself.

This.

I do this with my team and it helps make sure no effort is duplicated, share information, if someone needs help I can facilitate it and if there are overlaps in work we can avoid this. It's a positive and it helps us work together and support one another.

Pull the stick out your behind and just work with him and help the guy out.

The department itself have managed over 4 years without a direct manager, we tend to manage ourselves.. we not talking about staff that are new to the role or it's their first job. Maybe in your line of work or the way your department/company is setup it may be required but ours can't be more simpler; we look after the systems that we look after, if anyone needs help, ask... I have no interest in doing something that has never been required from me in all my working life, like I have no interest in standing in a circle and singing kumbaya. We are following industry standards, we are getting the work done, we just need more man power which was agreed years ago but if that make me difficult or **** so be it.

 

[Lopéz]

To be honest you are starting to sound like a bit of a workplace douche. Are you sure you aren't just bitter about this bloke getting promoted or whatever?

 

[slinxy]

nope no bitterness, I just have to keep reminding myself that I like this guy but if he's going to make my life harder; why shouldn't I be allowed to do the same?

 

[No1newts]

The department itself have managed over 4 years without a direct manager, we tend to manage ourselves.. we not talking about staff that are new to the role or it's their first job. Maybe in your line of work or the way your department/company is setup it may be required but ours can't be more simpler; we look after the systems that we look after, if anyone needs help, ask... I have no interest in doing something that has never been required from me in all my working life, like I have no interest in standing in a circle and singing kumbaya. We are following industry standards, we are getting the work done, we just need more man power which was agreed years ago but if that make me difficult or **** so be it.

It does indeed make you difficult.

I manage in an industry which is complex with managers of 10+ years experience and we all see the benefit of working together.

Don't do it, be difficult and make his life hell but if is made the boss and you are being a douche simply because you can then there will only be one loser. You.

 

[ZombieFan]

It sounds like you are being very resistant to change. It sounds like your new manager hasn't clearly explained why these reports are important. Why don't you have a chat with him to understand why he needs them? As mentioned earlier in the thread, they may be there to protect your time - your manager may have been tasked in understanding any issues which are preventing you and the rest of the team doing their jobs and getting them resolved.

Or he could be using them to initially get a clear understanding of what you do on a weekly basis - he may just not yet know what you are working on. He might think a report is the best way of getting up to speed with your workload. Better that than him looking over your shoulder all day?

 

[The Geezer]

We are following industry standards, we are getting the work done, we just need more man power which was agreed years ago but if that make me difficult or **** so be it.

Surely by doing the RAG reports your department heads will see that you can not cope with the workload. How can we draw this conclusion, the following weeks to-do-list will grow as you all will have a backlog.

Thus having the evidence for the extra manpower, giving your new boss ammunition to discuss the need for new staff in a rational evidence based manner

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

OP:

You work in an IT department - check.
You work in a team of 4 - check.
One of you got promoted to team leader - check.
Team leader is the worst performer - check.
The rest of us picked up the slack - check.

Your company has 25 employees and turnover is £2M?

I think we have worked at the same place!! In my case, our company folded after a couple of years of bad management. I ended up in a better job.

 

[slinxy]

At the end of the day, think what you like; i've posted it and you're welcome to form you're own opinions and to post them

We are talking about a person that worked with the company all his life, in the same department so he should have an understanding of what we do and why we are doing it.
The extra man powered was agreed over 4 years ago after internal and extrenal reviews, just that no one pulled their finger out and got someone hired.

I don't think I'm resistant to change, IT changes everyday.. with tech and requirements. What I am resistant is wasting resources that includes man hours in performing tasks that isn't required. Every reason that he's given; he can look at the job management system to collect that information, there's nothing I don't log either in the system, in documentation or noted in emails to be placed into the system or documentated later. I'm all for sharing information and working together but following a request blindly isn't working together, it's imho madness when it's not required. He maybe my boss, but he has a boss too; at the end of the day, like said before... I would rather walk than to work under such a regime.

 

[rubberduck]

Just do the report it's not a big deal.

 

[Maundie]

Surely by doing the RAG reports your department heads will see that you can not cope with the workload. How can we draw this conclusion, the following weeks to-do-list will grow as you all will have a backlog.

Thus having the evidence for the extra manpower, giving your new boss ammunition to discuss the need for new staff in a rational evidence based manner

Have you checked his isn't doing it for this, also I formed from your posts that you are resistant to change and one of those "It's how we've always worked, there's no possible way it could be improved" types.

I would say if you're prepared to walk then hand in your notice that'll show them that they are being unreasonable.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Add him on steam and one tap him on CSGO, that'll teach him.

In reality just do the damn report and don't be like the evergrowing proportion of workers who resist everything and make life awkward for everyone involved.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

After all of this ranting OP I think you could have had 2 days worth of reports filled in by now. Somethings should just be done if it's a very simple task like logging what you have done on a day basis. If you don't like it leave?

 

[slinxy]

yes, the point is that it should and is already logged in the job management system. That's the plan now; to leave.

 

[HangTime]

A weekly report isn't necessarily a bad thing dependent on what the content is and how it is used. Micro-managing in my eyes is telling people how to do a task. Asking for periodic status reports is just collating information on progress, not dictating how progress is achieved.

On the 'shop floor' some workers have little perspective on how visible the work of them and their colleagues is to managers, especially in larger / dispersed teams or where the manager has numerous other responsibilities. What to you may be 'obvious' may be less so to a manager who wants to keep a track on how things are going, visbility on progress, channel for flagging up issues etc.

I've worked with managers who required daily reports, managers who required weekly reports, and managers who required no reports. My preference was weekly reporting because I would much rather have a manager who is keeping an eye on things and giving me a regular channel to communicate risks etc, than just sitting back and letting issues develop, but equally not collecting very fine detail on a daily basis that could be outdated by the end of the week.

 

[Quartz]

But he now wants a weekly report on what we have done and what we are planning to do next week,

Sorry, but I'm not seeing the problem here. This is really to your benefit if you can show a written track record of success.

 

[Lopéz]

I'm amazed that someone would be prepared to quit their job over this, but good luck.

 

[A2Z]

Nothing worse than being micro managed like this.

He is being lazy. If he wants to know what you have done this week he can read your logs. But he wants a report to save him the bother. If he wants to know what you are doing next week he can look at the outstanding jobs.

Don't blame you for wanting to leave I would want to too. Can't stand 'managers' like this.