Are You Uninformed as a Manager?

You may not even have thought of this as you go about your daily business. But sometimes you get a gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach when you're suddenly faced with an issue or crisis that you know you should have seen coming, yet a critical piece of information was withheld from you for some unexplained reason. Maybe it was an objection from an employee that you never heard, yet managed to reach your boss. Or maybe a key project fell through without anyone informing you.

Whatever the reason, the reality is you aren't omniscient, so when news you're supposed to hear doesn't reach you it can make you look bad And when the manager is made out to be a fool, the company's reputation can easily suffer as a result. If you don't know about an issue, you obviously can't do anything about it, so the key to solving this problem lies in getting the information you need in time to do something about it.

There are various reasons why you may not get the necessary information. If an employee is afraid of a negative reaction on your part, they may simply sit on some bad news until it's too late to rectify. Those who are the source of a given conflict will sometimes hide the truth, concerned about the possible repercussions. Even your own reluctance to face issues head-on can contribute to an attitude that's less than proactive.

A good way to combat these external (and internal) obstacles is to let those around you know you're interested in what others have to say and solve problems in a calm, rational manner. If you tend to blame people for situations that pop up, the question of whether they're responsible or not becomes irrelevant in light of the bigger issue: if you do this, no one will feel safe telling you anything.

By letting people know you can be spoken to without fear of being blamed or looked down upon, you're already halfway to the solution. When you solve the problem rather than seek a scapegoat, you'll find more information heading your way.

And if you discover that the source of the current problem is, in fact, yourself or your own miscalculations, never (NEVER) try to cover it up. Inevitably it will come out I the most unexpected way, at he most inopportune time, so it's best to own up to a mistake right away. You'll be setting a perfect example for your staff to follow, making it easier for them to approach you when they discover a mistake of their own.

By creating an open atmosphere at your workplace, where problem-solving is encouraged, scapegoating is absent and mistakes are freely admitted, your issues of being ill-informed as a manager will vanish.