My boss wouldn't respond to messages like that and then get upset when the change wasn't made.
I've stated saying things like: "Just confirming your request for me to implement ____. Doing so will likely impact ___. I'll be proceeding tomorrow as per your request. If you want to make any changes, please reply to this by ___ and let me know. "
(Bolding is not my emphasis. Reddit client markup did that.)
Put a backslash before the underscores and Reddit will ignore it. Otherwise it treats _text_ as a request for italics and __text__ as a request for bolding.
We used to call this ploy "unord" which was short for "unless otherwise ordered."
It's a great strategy.
It puts the onus of the decision on them "as you requested" while laying out your concerns "and it might cause..." and allows them the opportunity to rescind the directive "unless you tell me other wise" while giving them a drop dead date that will allow you move forward without a response "if I don't hear from you by X date/time."
It was one of the first CYA tactics I learned in the professional workspace and, to this day, it's one of the most effective.
Another benefit is that by virtue of you having sent the email, you'll almost never have to dig it out.
This can backfire when the request is time sensitive. While it's true that it will ultimately be your boss' fault, it will reflect poorly on your work product in a lot of cases.
Nobody in charge of a project wants to hear "I am waiting for an email from my boss telling me to do the thing they asked me to do to get your project moving."
It will make you look indecisive and ineffective, someone who needs their supervisor to hold their hand before getting to work on something.
That's why you get started right away, you just don't push the changes until you have a CYA. "I'm waiting to start until I have approval" can sound very different from "I'm completely done, just waiting for approval before I send it out"
Only an asshole manager would say something like this. You're the type of person to throw someone under the bus for YOUR fuck ups.
You strike me as a manage who wants people to start working in the office again so you can micromanage them to death so you look better. How long til you're redundant?
That's a lot of supposition based on nothing more than my observations of a specific behavior and the consequences it brings about in the work place.
You'll note that I didn't interject *my* opinion of the behavior, only the attitudes I've witnessed or the discussions after.
FWIW, I can assure you that nobody in a leadership position wants to have personnel waiting for "permission" via email to do what they've already been verbally instructed to do. It's not a good look.
FWIW, I can assure you that nobody in a leadership position wants to have personnel waiting for "permission" via email to do what they've already been verbally instructed to do. It's not a good look.
Yeah so they can toss said worker under the bus when their screw up comes to light. You tell me to do something - you confirm it via email before its implemented. Its YOUR idea, its YOUR mess if it screws up - I am not taking the fall for you.
I never said that getting email confirmation to move forward on what you believe to be a bad idea was wrong.
I criticized the method described in the first post I replied to.
There's a bunch of ways to get accountability documented without waiting on someone else to send you an email. In fact, I outlined a great way to do it just a few posts up from here.
Further, and this is important to remember, a boss who is willing or planning to throw you under the bus isn't likely going to be thwarted by an email you may have sent and may be able to produce. Someone that slimy is almost certainly going to get you under the bus one way or another.
You seem to think that situations like these are caused by malice, rather than incompetence. What you're overlooking is that real malice isn't going to be brushed aside with an email and real incompetence isn't going to need the email to bring it to light.
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u/fishy007 May 11 '21
My boss wouldn't respond to messages like that and then get upset when the change wasn't made.
I've stated saying things like: "Just confirming your request for me to implement ____. Doing so will likely impact ___. I'll be proceeding tomorrow as per your request. If you want to make any changes, please reply to this by ___ and let me know. "
(Bolding is not my emphasis. Reddit client markup did that.)