Communicating with your idiot boss

Scott Herrick at Cube Rules, a job-advice blog, points out three mistakes we all make when reporting in to that lump in the corner office.

Explaining your entire thought process without a decision request

Remember the writing rule that says the first sentence of your paragraph should explain what is coming in the rest of the paragraph? Same situation here. Managers are used to making decisions, so tell your manager up front what you are requesting. Once you say what you are expecting, you can then go through the reasons why and your supervisor will know where you are headed. The longer it takes for you to put out your request, the more your supervisor will try and figure out what you want instead of listening to what you are saying.

Failing to prototype your work

Ever had your supervisor give you a small project with a due date out a couple of weeks? How many times have you taken that project, thought you understood the deliverable, then presented your work on the due date and were told it was all wrong?

It happens all the time. The higher up you go in the organization, the more likely it is to happen — because no one wants to bother the mucky-muck, but to deliver.

When you get a project, take one point and follow it through to the end. Then, after completing this in a couple of days — about 5-10% of the total project, show your work to your manager. Now you will discover all the hidden requirements your manager assumed you knew when you said yes to the project. Now you will find the right level of detail. Now you will find if you are writing for the right audience. Now you will find if you are using the right delivery tool for the work.

Providing activities in status reports instead of accomplishments

In bigger corporations, status reports are common. Most managers don’t tell you what they want in them or, if they do, they focus on activities, not accomplishments. Don’t fall for this trap.

Your accomplishments are your results that can get included in your performance review. Or your resume. Your accomplishments become the stories you tell your hiring manager for your next gig. Even if your manager wants to know that you attended twenty meetings last week, put in the twenty meetings but also include what you accomplished as a result of the meetings.