Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Clueless Manager

When asked in our Facebook poll last week to identify the source of their greatest IT frustration, two out of three respondents picked the answer "Oblivious, clueless, or disengaged management."

If it's true that we laugh hardest at familiar folly, then maybe the Pointy-Haired Boss (PHB) character in Scott Adams' Dilbert comic strip is so uproariously funny because, apparently, 66% of all IT professionals work for him?

For those who don't follow Dilbert, a PHB is a "mind bogglingly stupid boss lacking foresight, technical knowledge, leadership skills, morality and/or tact." (From the Urban Dictionary)

Nobody consciously sets out to become a Pointy-Haired Boss, but, in the creative perception of their colleagues and subordinates, all-too-many IT managers seem to unconsciously shout "Look at Me! I'm a PHB!"

How is it that, when an IT manager or leader says engaging, positive, and affirming things like:


    “How’s it going?”
    “What do you think?”

    “How can we help?”
    “Nice work.”
    “Thanks.”


Their employees and team members hear instead:

    “You can be replaced.”
    “You’re going nowhere.”
    “Your opinion is worthless.”
    “You can’t do anything right.”
    “You’ll never be good enough.”

Pointy-Haired Bosses declare themselves as such not by what they explicitly say, but by their subtle behavioral traits, which "speak" far louder than mere words. These are examples of quiet ways to loudly proclaim "Look at me! I'm a PHB!"


- Interrupting face-to-face meetings to take cell phone calls
- Disciplining employees in front of others
- Leaving meetings abruptly because “something came up”
- Arriving late for scheduled appointments or meetings
- Micromanaging the "how" of tasks assigned to subordinates
- Announcing top-level reorganizations without explaining their significance to the people in lower-level positions


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(This entire Dilbert montage is funny, but you'll find the best example clip of this post's point 1 minute in.)




                   

"We're Clueless!" is never explicitly pronounced; it's implied by our behavior. "Clueless" is perceived, and, in this and all matters of human behavior, perception is truth.


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