simplerich

Once upon a time there was an employee who wanted their manager do do something for them. The employee wants their manager to give a specific answer so what do they do? They leave a trail of breadcrumbs for their boss to find. That’s what they do! They manage their boss by controlling the flow of information to their boss. They manage their boss by managing the information.

This isn’t new. This is as old as when we were kids asking to go to our friend’s house and saying that their Dad would be home but leaving out that their Dad was indeed going to be home but that he didn’t live with them… the parents were divorced. Ah yes… breadcrumbs. They can lead people just about anywhere can’t they? (I never did that, honest Mom!)

So a manager calls and starts feeding me breadcrumbs. “Mongo was late again yesterday.” I should say as an aside here that I not only leave out employees names here I mostly ask the managers to not tell me who the employee is so that my answers won’t be biased by who the employee is that they’re talking about.

So, the conversation starts with a data point… a breadcrumb and then there will be another one. Maybe the manager is about to shotgun Mongo by hitting them with everything they’ve got. “And he didn’t do his cleaning yesterday and his drawer was off and he didn’t rotate the bagels properly and he didn’t put the seat down blah blah blah blah” At his point the manager wants me to tell them what to do. What they want me to tell them to do varies with the quantity and quality of the breadcrumbs. At first it’s easy to play the game. Just tell them what they want to hear and move on. Honestly… I’ve done that before. It’s faster. It’s not what I try and do any more though.

I think a better response, and one I try and do now is ask what they want to do. What does the manager think is the appropriate response to Mongo’s shenanigans. Sometimes they’re not sure their answer is right and they want me to say it first for affirmation of their own judgment, and sometimes they want to make me the bad guy because it’s easier for them if they can say “Sorry Mongo. That darned Rich said I had to shoot you in the knees for not raising the lid when you went to the bathroom. He’s tough, but fair!” I’m OK with being the bad guy as long as the manager doesn’t give me just the crust.

When being breadcrumbed it’s important to make sure you’re getting all the information. Make sure the data’s not being too cherry picked when it’s doled out. Then, honestly, let the manager talk themselves into an answer… if it’s not a great answer or one you could support rather than saying “No! Do this instead.” Offer alternatives. Don’t breadcrumb them back. Ugh, it’s a vicious circle. Let the madness end!” But do try and suggest alternatives or ways that it could also be done.

Next time you find yourself in the forest being led around by a breadcrumbing employee. Why not just ask them, “What do you want me to say?” If you stop playing the game right up front it’s less fun for them as well. “What would you like to do?” or “What would you suggest if you were in my position?” are also good ways to derail the game that’s being played.

(This post was brought on by a conversation I had over at a ruzuku challenge about conversation. If you haven’t looked into joining a ruzuku challenge keep your eyes out for more. They’re in alpha right now but I see it growing fast.

The Management by breadcrumbs. . . . by Rich Griffith, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.