Who's asking Whom?
Two items-of-note from the February issue of Training & Development magazine:
- Item One - Only 33% of employees surveyed say their bosses seldom or never ask them for advice. Now at first blush, this may seem like fairly good news. I mean if 33% are not asked, then that means 67% are asked. But what remains unanswered is what type of questions are those 67% asked? Are they meaningful and important questions or more trivial in nature? Do they require critical thinking and analysis skills or are they just simply yes/no questions? I have my suspicions, don't you?!
- Item Two - Only 11% of employees see their boss as a source for workplace advice. This separate survey found that more workers rely on a peer (24%), another senior-level employee (15%), a friend outside the company (14%), and a mentor or coach (13%). Have bosses truly become that useless?
So there you have it - bosses don't ask their direct reports questions and direct reports don't ask their bosses questions. No wonder so many organizations are in such disarray.
For the record, asking questions is not a sign of weakness - it's a sign of curiosity. And curiosity is a good thing.
Oh, you say you are asking questions but just not getting the clarity you're looking for? Well ask again. And keep ask. But don't just ask the same exact question over and over again. Be creative. Approach it from different angles. But, above all, be persistent in your pursuit of meaningful information up and down the chain.
Point Last: Who's not been asking you questions lately?! You might want to see if you can stimulate their asking you for workplace advice - especially if you're their boss.
Labels: Leadership Development, Success at Work
posted by Barry Zweibel at 7:21 AM
2 Comments:
One of the big reasons people don't ask their bosses for advice is because their boss may not be competent at what the employee is trying to do. Many bosses let management and leadership go to their heads and stop trying to understand how things actually work or understanding the skills of the people they manage.
I was talking with a friend one time who told me that he stopped going to his boss for help because it wasted more time than it was worth.
I've heard that at Microsoft everyone reports to someone who could do their job if needed. In this type of setup I imagine the statistics would be a lot higher.
Mark Shead
Leadership501
Hi Mark ~ I don't doubt you're right. Lousy bosses are an epidemic in America. And yet, sometimes employees like to "demonize" their boss to stay in their co-workers' good graces - It's really a pitiful cycle.
But as with so many things, things will never change unless someone takes the first step.
Too, I do not believe that a boss has to be competent in what the employee is trying to do - that's the employee's job. The boss is there to provide resources, open doors, and provide 'air cover' in the event things go wrong. It's not their job to do their staff's work for them.
You are right, though, about how egos can get in the way. Unfortunately, that's part of the human condition. What employees need to do, in my opinion, is learn how to work with that constraint rather than simply complaining that it IS a constraint.
Thanks for your comment.
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