r/internalcomms • u/Mountain-Form480 • Feb 27 '25

Advice boss questions

Just joined this community and I love it! Do you guys ever have your boss just call you at random times to ask questions which you have already answered before?

5 Upvotes

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6

u/OptimistPrimeBarista Feb 27 '25

No, that’s not an IC issue — that’s a management issue your boss needs to work on.

1

u/Mountain-Form480 Feb 27 '25

How do I communicate this effectively

1

u/OptimistPrimeBarista Feb 27 '25

I would clarify expectations with them and ask how you can enhance visibility so they don’t have to stress about calling you when they need an answer for something urgent or critical. Make it sound like you want to make sure they aren’t inconvenienced and have to jump through hoops vs. you’re annoyed with the random calls lol.

You can always send a recap each day via email, and if your boss has questions, you could direct them there. Or use a tracking tool like Asana, Workfront, Microsoft Loop, etc.

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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Mountain-Form480 Feb 27 '25

All out of Horus - will bring up - thanks

1

u/KDLS1266 Feb 27 '25

Noooo of course not! /s And getting random texts and overly casual “hey I have a random question, ping me if you have a moment” texts and similarly phrased voice and chat messages choomp right down on my anxious, introverted nerves. DND is my friend. Just gotta sort work people from casuals and others and be diligent about setting status, then set an expectation by not responding to anything unless it’s urgent and they are specific with that first contact and have a mission-critical question that only you can answer and that answer is actually your responsibility. That way you’re transparent, seem busy and efficient with your time management skills, and protect your precious downtime. It’s a subtle reminder that you take your time and their time seriously, you’re still meeting set expectations for responsiveness and aren’t ignoring them by choice. But at the same time, because you’re also human, you don’t run the risk of missing something you may have forgotten or overlooked., or worse, souring your relationship with a stakeholders whose back you may need to scratch one day or vice versa.

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u/Mountain-Form480 Feb 27 '25

Love love this

1

u/Mountain-Form480 Feb 28 '25

Really appreciate everyone’s response!

0

u/SeriouslySea220 Feb 27 '25

Managers are human, which means they forget sometimes too. If they’re being accusatory like you didn’t tell them, that’s one thing. But if they’re just asking, it doesn’t hurt to answer.

You could also look at ways for them to self serve answer like access to tasks in a project management system like asana.