I don't know if this is the right forum for this but I hope you guys can help.
I work for a firm that employs what I like to call "shoot-from-the-hip" management. Management plans through spastic rash decisions without considering the consequences or any of the dependencies that may be affected by a decision. Thus the boots on the ground are always scrambling. Additionally, Management does not believe in putting together formal scope and solution requirements and we are left guessing what they want or really mean most times. As an example of something that affects me and my time directly is my manager above me who will get excited about something (like a child almost) and that's the project your working on today and I need things done tomorrow.
Besides quitting and moving to a more structured organization. How do I try to change the culture or at least the persons I can affect to be more strategic planning oriented rather than making rash decisions?
So I've done the normal, "You have to pull the answers out of management" routine. I ask questions pertaining to what they want and I and other managers will either blank stares or annoyed looks. Is there anything else I can try in order to get some more strategic thinking and detail oriented planning in the minds of these people? And the worse part of all of this...The management that is doing the planning isn't even upper management. It’s middle management who should be concerned about what makes the "wheel go round".
Any help or tips would be appreciated.
What's YOUR strategy?
Be wary of characterization: what you call "shoot from the hip" might be seen by them as "responding to the situation on the ground." It's unlikely that they don't consider the consequences or dependencies. Perhaps they just see a different set of consequences and dependencies than you see.
Since you don't want to leave the company, let's assume the company is profitable and reasonable successful. And if they are profitable and reasonably successful, perhaps it's because whatever management is doing actually works.
If you want to change culture, it's actually simple (although hard): do a great job, get promoted, be effective at that level, and get promoted again. If your boss needs it tomorrow, get it to him tomorrow. You will eventually change the culture. Which is the source of my question:
What's your strategy? Just because your boss seems to change direction frequently doesn't mean you have to. Are you in an IT organization? If they think you ask too many questions, and you think they're vague, maybe the problem is that you don't understand their business. You need to understand their business better, their priorities, their drivers. You have to assume they're rational (or we're back to "look for a different job") so figure out what they're responding to. If they're asking you fight alligators, figure out how to drain the swamp.
Since we don't know your industry or your company in detail, how you go about solving the strategic problem is unclear. The solution is not going to come from you changing your boss's behavior. The solution will come from you being more strategic about your situation.
John Hack
DiSC
I'd also suggest listening to the DISC podcasts. It sounds like your boss is a high I (all ideas and excitement) and you're a high C (all logic and process). It makes it difficult (though not impossible) for you to understand each other's perspective (as John alluded to).
You can find the DISC podcasts here: http://www.manager-tools.com/podcasts/manager-tools?filter0=17
Wendii
The excitement of youth?
clembm:
Your post makes you sound young to me: enthusiastic - and headstrong. Passionate - and impatient.
I could be entirely wrong about this, because I'm only "hearing" your voice in what you wrote. But I want to be honest and respectful enough to point out to you that your words paint an "us vs. them" picture: you VERSUS management.
I don't know what you want to do, but if you want to advance into mid and senior management, you will never make it by being dismissive of those above you. That may not be "right" - but it's true. Organizations require people who can work together; collegiality is still a prized trait among US companies. So if you're looking to move up, understand that the low regard you have for those above you WILL be detected - you can't hide it, even if you think you can -and you're not moving up.
On the other hand, maybe you have no interest in advancing. Maybe you're somebody who wants to be an individual contributor. The iconoclast who's so good at what you do that you're given room to be acerbic about management. OK - but still a bit of a dead end to my thinking. I mean, then you're REALLY dependent on what you know, and in my experience, reorganizations have a way of washing out those folks.
Look, maybe I'm making too much of the word in your post. And if so, I apologize. I'm just looking at 25 years of experience in public and private sectors, in individual contributor up to senior director positions, and have come to the conclusion that I want enthusiastic, even headstrong. I love passion, I tolerate impatience, but I will quickly cordon off or eject anyone who corrodes a collaborative work environment. I welcome disagreement and criticism, but ultimately members of the organization have to support one another, or leave.
my two cents.
Thank you everyone for your
Thank you everyone for your advice. My question was really how to influence or help redirect people away from rash decisions. I apologize if I came off as "me versus them". It was not my intent and after re-reading my post, it wasn't my best dialog.
Even so...
You're really asking "how to influence or help redirect" your BOSS "away from rash decisions."
That's a very different issue than it would be if it were your directs who were making rash decisions.
And the reality is, you can't change your boss. You can change yourself, and you can influence your directs. So instead of worrying about things you can't change, look at the things you can change.
One last thought: You want to stay, so let's assume the company is successful. If the company is successful, then management must be doing a lot things right. It may seem rash to you, but there's likely a method to the madness.
John Hack
Perhaps not so rash...
I've found that decisions I initially thought were rash, were actually quite deliberate after I knew the whole story.
It's possible your boss has more information than you; not because she's smarter, rather because she's higher in the organization than you. The decision she makes may appear *to you* to be rash and not based on any information, when in fact it's based on a bunch of information you don't have access to.