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Struggling with inexperienced manager, job at risk due to bad rating - how to react?
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this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2023
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I have little insight but reading that it sounds like you're weak in terms of project management and communication around projects. If people don't know you finished a project or why the project was valuable then that is a weakness on both those counts. It also doesn't seem like you understand how or why you're seen as weak in those areas.
One feedback I have had with a report was actually similar. I (and my boss) expect someone that senior to be able to be dropped onto a new project, and either get it delivered or escalate direct asks. Status updates should be concise and asks should be actionable. Not "the project is , can you " but "the project is , can you and make a decision on ."
As someone external to me it sounds like the message is "the company/team wants a culture of directness/bluntness versus consensus to speed up decision making. Your approach is not aligned with the culture so change it." It may also mean that while consensus with others is good the communication to your manager/skip needs to be more direct and actionable (see previous example).
Thanks a lot for taking the time to go through all of this. Yeah, there's no doubt I have some room for development, and I think I focussed way too much on getting the project delivered vs. also making sure communication around it will arrive at senior executive level. You're pretty much on point with your observations. I think that's actually a super helpful comment on how to get more concise about asks.
I thought a lot about your last paragraph and maybe I've been too idealistic about bringing in my own style. Like, I know this kind of communication and I've done it before, but it doesn't seem to fit my personal preferences. Eventually, if I'm hitting so much resistance I can either learn to accept a different, more actionable style or look for a new job I guess.
It's helpful to get some outside opinion, and it does help me better to categorize the feedback better, I gave it a lot of thought over the weekend. I honestly appreciate your comments as they're short and actionable, and I agree that's a good thing.
Now I still have the problem though that I'm at risk of being PIPed or layed off directly. The personal component comes in because there are rumors about further layoffs and PIP quotas. Given my overall contributions of which my manager is aware, I know that I wouldn't be taking a hit if I had a better relationship with my manager, or the business would be in a better situation.
Anyway, I still have a bit of time to think through how to go about the conversation with my skip level in the best possible way.
Potentially if the project isn't being known about for you then it's also probably not know about for your manager so you both look like you didn't achieve much. Given the economic climate they're probably worried about a layoff as well and having a report that isn't making them look good isn't optimal. In most companies the perception of what you do matters significantly more than what you actually do and it's even more the case for managers.
One final comment is that you probably need to build up trust with your manager. They probably don't trust you and you probably don't trust them on a personal level. In theory that's part of their job but they're the ones in power so in the end it benefits you more. One advice I heard which does in fact come off as ass kissing but is probably very beneficial in reality is to acknowledge in 1-on-1s to them the good things they did. "Hey manager, I really appreciate you giving such a thorough review of the project" or "Hey manager, thank you for pushing back so strongly on that request." Short and specific then move on.