2 ms·

Yes and the quickest way to solve that problem was to have a conversation about it. Not by ignoring the issue and hoping things magically work out. “Hey it loo

by Swizec 4y ago

Yes and the quickest way to solve that problem was to have a conversation about it. Not by ignoring the issue and hoping things magically work out. “Hey it looks like we’re miscommunicating, what do you hear when I say X?” is a great way to start. Much much better than thinking quietly to yourself something like “Gosh that engineer is so dumb why don’t they ever do what I ask???” and never telling the employee that there’s a problem. Ultimately people can’t fix a problem they don’t know exists. And despite their best efforts, they can’t read your mind.

club_tropical 4y ago
"never telling the employee that there’s a problem" is almost never the case. Your comment mentioned years of miscommunication. If they never expect an update or ever ask you about that thing you were supposed to do, I guess that's one thing, but it's highly unusual. Usually the manager will check in several times "so where's project X at?" and your response would easily clear up the confusion. 'I don't think that's on my plate, I thought you said X' would lead to a quick conversation where the problem is solved, and mappings are updated. This doesn't take more than 2-3 weeks of coworking to figure out, not years. If the manager asks you repeatedly about project X, and you repeatedly say "I haven't looked at that yet" or some other thing that accepts responsibility but clings to the original phrasing as an excuse to get yourself off the hook, the manager is correct about thinking "why don't they do what I ask". This indicates a judgment problem.
- Swizec 4y ago
  > would lead to a quick conversation where the problem is solved, and mappings are updated That sounds a lot like feedback to me. Your earlier comment said you don’t believe in that Perhaps we have different definitions of “feedback”
  - club_tropical 4y ago
    I cannot see how, if the issue was a simple mapping update like this, it would have taken years to come up.

by Swizec 4y ago

club_tropical 4y ago

"never telling the employee that there’s a problem" is almost never the case. Your comment mentioned years of miscommunication. If they never expect an update or ever ask you about that thing you were supposed to do, I guess that's one thing, but it's highly unusual. Usually the manager will check in several times "so where's project X at?" and your response would easily clear up the confusion. 'I don't think that's on my plate, I thought you said X' would lead to a quick conversation where the problem is solved, and mappings are updated. This doesn't take more than 2-3 weeks of coworking to figure out, not years. If the manager asks you repeatedly about project X, and you repeatedly say "I haven't looked at that yet" or some other thing that accepts responsibility but clings to the original phrasing as an excuse to get yourself off the hook, the manager is correct about thinking "why don't they do what I ask". This indicates a judgment problem.

Swizec 4y ago
> would lead to a quick conversation where the problem is solved, and mappings are updated That sounds a lot like feedback to me. Your earlier comment said you don’t believe in that Perhaps we have different definitions of “feedback”
- club_tropical 4y ago
  I cannot see how, if the issue was a simple mapping update like this, it would have taken years to come up.