My manager can’t see the big picture and does tit for tat. Help!

Hello Aunty B,

I have a manager who runs a small team of 14, which provides a service for a business of about 300. The service isn’t a major part of the bigger company but it is important and creates issues if not done correctly.

There are issues and often those issues are the bigger company’s fault. There is a double standard from the hierarchy on what my staff are held accountable for and often no assistance is provided from the regular staff which causes a lot of friction between both groups and there is a real lack of understanding from all parties.

My manager doesn’t see the bigger picture and gets caught up in a tit for tat mentality, often focusing on the way things have been handled by the “enemy” rather than the problem at hand.

I’ve discussed my thoughts with my manager but this falls on deaf ears, she does a great job but often treats issues as much bigger than they actually are, and it sets a poor example for the other staff.

Help!

Dear Help,

The bad news is your manager is actually not doing a great job. The good news is you can fix the problem. Why is your manager doing a bad job? Well, a big part of the manager’s job is to manage. There are always politics and complexities in business. A manager’s job is to find their way through the complexities, help staff along behind them and at the same time, get staff to understand the bigger picture. It includes building morale, not contributing to bad morale and certainly tit for tat behaviour with enemy talk is not on.

It means not catastrophising but staying calm and working through situations to turn them around. It means realising what you can control and change and what you can’t. And it means working within the limitations set for you, but being smart enough to try and change the outcome so you can get better results.

Which brings me to your job. Forget discussing your thoughts. You need to sit her down, tell her what she is good at and what she urgently needs to improve. Set KPIs that address the above issues and meet with her on a regular basis to make sure she is responding. You want to see her quickly change and the morale of her staff improve.

Be smart,
Your Aunty B

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