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Thursday’s Thought – When The Boss Says…

With everything that is going on with the Senate Hearings and today being Comey Day, I thought I would replay some of the things that really get you to think about – WHEN THE BOSS SAYS…

Having worked for over 40 years for many different types of bosses – I have had more than a few things pop up that made me think or act because the boss says.

  • Ever get an email from the bosses boss that asked you if you have looked at a particular software package and compare it to what we are using today? I got one of them out of the blue one day… It was an email that the CEO sent to the bosses boss and filter to me. So, if the CEO asks that question… I guess we need to act quickly. Off I go and do a quick review of the pros, cons and price differences to provide an answer that demonstrates that we understand a particular direction… Time spent, time wasted, or so I thought.
  • I was doing an internal open door investigation for another department and that department head asked me to share my findings in an update. I thought that request a bit strange, but I provided an update and copied HR on the update as well. It was not but 10 minutes and HR called to ask why I provided an update. I told them it was a request from the dept head. They told me – no updates, once the investigation is over – you provide the findings to HR only.

There are a number more of them, but let’s just say they all pretty much come out the same. A simple request that you should not have acted upon. When the boss, or bosses boss asked for something – you probably should not just take it for face value. I did stop to think of what harm it is to do whatever is asked, but pretty much did the work anyways.

Listening from way outside on the Comey hearing – you can see a similar the boss asked – should you do? In his case – he protected himself with documenting the situations.

The boss does not always know best! The boss maybe asking for information or wondering if we should do something down the road – you better take a minute or two to fully understand what is being requested before jumping. I have found that, taking a minute or two for clarity – has helped me do the right thing and with mostly minimal effort. I treat it like seek to understand – clearer!

Copyright: robodread / 123RF Stock Photo

Published inLeadershipObservations

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