How to Deal With a Micromanaging Boss Who Slows You Down - The Muse

How to Deal With a Micromanaging Boss Who Slows You Down - The MuseHow to Deal With a Micromanaging Boss Who Slows You Down Tzu siches nothing left to tackle on your to-do list. Unfortunately, its not because youve been a productivity superstar. Its because every last thing on your list is at a standstill- pending an approval, edits, or guidance from your manager. Managers often do this with the best of intentions. They want to see, review, and endorse everything that goes out of the department to make sure its the best it can be. But in the process of doing that, emails build up in their inboxes, and employees sit around, waiting for the approvals they need to move on with their projects. How do you handle a bottleneck thats impeding your ability to get your work done? Here are a few tips to absprache with a micromanaging boss.Plan for ItYou know that friend whos late to everything? Shes the one who says Im almost there when she hasnt even pulled out of her driveway yet. You may dea l with her perpetual lateness for a while, but when you know theres an important event that she absolutely has to be on time for- like your wedding- you tell her that it starts an hour earlier than it actually does. And then she shows up perfectly on time. In the same way, you have to plan ahead when you know youre going to encounter a bottleneck. That could, for example, mean getting the report into your managers inbox a week earlier than you otherwise would, to allot some extra time for him or her to review and approve it. Or, if youre writing a company newsletter, maybe you get your managers approvals on each of the story ideas before you actually start writing- instead of working to complete the entire newsletter and then presenting it to her approval, forcing a tight deadline that probably wont be met.Remind, Remind AgainThe absolute worst thing you can do is send a request or assignment to your boss by email, and then simply wait (and wait, and wait) for a response. Thats prac tically begging for your task to get caught in the bottleneck.At the root of the issue, your boss is probably very busy (and perhaps a bit disorganized)- and that means that he or she may need a reminder or two to make sure tasks get accomplished. So, maybe you email your boss on Monday afternoon with your request or assignment for review. On Tuesday, as you pass by his office during lunch, you stop in and say, Just wanted to remind you that I need your review and approval on the Smith proposal by end of day on Wednesday- its in your inbox now. And then Wednesday morning, you pop in again to ask, Will you be able to get me your changes and approval this afternoon? I can re-send if you need.I know, it sounds annoying. But frankly, your boss will likely appreciate the reminders- and if it helps you get what you need, its ultimately helping your boss (and the entire department) succeed. Ask to Take the LeadWhile its clear that your manager prefers to review and approve everything that goes through the department, if you make him or her feel mora confident in your abilities, he or she may be willing to hand over the reins.For example, I recently had a manager who liked to have the last look at everything my team and I wrote- down to the most mundane emails- and it was significantly slowing down everyones progress. I finally took a chance standing my ground on a small assignment I knew I had nailed Hey Lisa, there are two webinar invites that are due today. I reviewed the copy and there were very few edits. I know you have a lot on your plate already would it be OK if I went ahead and moved them forward?She (somewhat reluctantly) agreed, and I was finally able to cross that item off my to-do list- and she saw that it turned out fine. Once I had tested the waters, I slowly started feeling more confident about making those calls on other assignments I dont think this one needs your review, so Im going to go ahead and finalize it. Is that OK? And most of the time, she agreed. Sure, if we were writing a company-wide email communication on behalf of the executive team, wed need her approval. But if I was making minor edits to an existing sales brochure or PowerPoint deck, she agreed that she didnt need to review. And that opened up her time and loosened the bottleneck. Have a Frank ConversationOf course, your boss may be more of a stickler- and his or her response to your attempt to sidestep the established process may be, No, I still need to review it. Ill get to it as soon as I can.In that case, you need to address the issue more directly. During your regularly scheduled one-on-one meeting (if you dont have one set up- you should), bring up the issue and how its affecting the team I know you have quite a few projects and assignments that are waiting for review. Is there a way we can make the process more efficient? Is there anything I can do individually to make it easier on you? For example, maybe shed prefer you to specify the deadline in the subject line of your email, so she can prioritize her inbox based on whats due immediately. Or, maybe your boss would prefer that you bring a list of pending items to a weekly check-in meeting, and you can address any questions- and immediately check off approvals- as you go. But even if you cant determine an immediate solution, alerting your boss directly will help him or her realize its not just a matter of disorganization or an overflowing inbox- its a problem thats impacting the entire teams productivity. And that can be the wake-up call your boss needs to figure out a solution.Photo of hose drip courtesy of Shutterstock.

The best things in life are usually byproducts

The best things in life are usually byproductsThe best things in life are usually byproductsThales of Miletus, considered the first true philosopher in ancient Greece, lived a simple life.We know him today for his application of early scientific principles to the study of nature. In a way, he welches the intersection that caused mythology to diverge away from a world of facts.Naturally, there is little he had to say that is considered profound today, but for the time he lived in, his approach was nothing short of revolutionary. When he talked, people listened.According to legend, however, as his appeal grew, so did the noise of his critics. What could a man of such humble origins tell them about how the world worked, they wondered. Surely, if he knew what he was talking about, his wealth and his success would speak for itself.Much of their irritation with Thales came from him shunning such worldly desires. They had a point, too Can you really criticize something that you havent exper ienced for yourself?Thales, the story goes, then set out to make his case. Using his observational knowledge of astronomy, he rightly predicted that one of the years would have a particularly favorable climate for olives to grow on olive trees. The winter before harvest season, he made his bet.By hiring away all of the olive presses before the harvest, he became the single point of distribution for the machinery needed to collect the fruit, making a fortune in the process.He didnt have much money or any visible form of leverage before this, but he did have a theory based on his tested knowledge and that, apparently, paid off in an indirect way.When people began acknowledging his worldly success, he simply went back to his old, simple way of being. The only difference this time was that no one dared to doubt him.Second-order effects carry the rewardLike most parables of historical figures, there is as much chance that the story of Thales is grounded in myth as it is in reality. That, nonetheless, doesnt stop it from being useful.There are a few points we can take away here. The obvious one concerns itself with virtue and Thales living what he preached. Another is the value of knowledge and understanding how to think well enough that the theories we rationalize translate into practice.The most interesting illumination, however, which connects to the other two but is mora foundational, is the fact that everything has both an intended and an unintended side-effect.Thales never cared about being wealthy and successful things we think of as the reward but his intention to learn and to understand the world paved a way there regardless. Granted, he walked away when he got there, but the connection between the two matters.Most of the things we want this could be said to include our pursuit of happiness, too are arbitrary cultural constructs which have changing definitions. They have no fixed point, and they dont represent a universal, timeless emotion or feeling or value or way-of-being.Even if we, ourselves, define success and happiness at some point, theres still nothing concrete to grasp because we live in a world of constant change, making them arbitrary.Any attempt to acquire such rewards, then, is misguided. You cant intend to wake up living a perfect life in a year, hoping that your goals and the 10 steps you laid out will get you there, because your expectancy of what that perfect life is fluctuates as you interact with reality.The best things in life are byproducts. They are almost never intentional first-order effects, but unintentional second-order effects. They emerge as a consequence of just doing what you ought to do in a way that is valuable and meaningful over a sustained period of time.In Thaless case, maybe wealth brought him new conveniences, and that was nice, but his appreciation of the simple life was born from not minding whether the reward was there or not, which in turn likely enabled him to enjoy it in a healthier an d more balanced way.The most direct way to get what we intuitively want is to let it go and keep moving.Orienting yourself in what is disorientingMost of us think about the future a lot. We make plans, we consider, and we compare. Many of us, in fact, live in this imagined thought-game more than we do in the reality around us.This is a natural human instinct, one most people need to engage for survival. But in order to make sense of this thought-game, we do something that damages us We use the arbitrary words like happiness and success and their association with imagined events to orient us.Not only do we live in a made-up world, but we use that made-up world to guide us in reality, centering it on made-up definitions of words that dont have concrete definitions.We cant deal with the fact that the future is unknown and disorienting, so we create all this in our mind as a reference point. For the most part, it does fine, but at its core, its a thinking pattern that can only lead to dissatisfaction because the predictions we make are often poor.In his book Obliquity, economist John Kay makes the case that complex goals in complex systems which very much applies to us as humans are best achieved indirectly.Most rewards are byproducts, yes, but there is another caveat Due to the uncertainty we face when dealing with the future, the only way to orient ourselves in the right direction is to self-correct towards some roughly undefined point while focusing on something else.To make optimal decisions, an agent has to force their attention onto what they can control, which usually has nothing to do with happiness or success or any other worldly desire.This means that much of the imagined future we construct is a waste of mental energy and resources, because the only place where you can control something is right now, in reality.To orient ourselves in a disorienting world, we need to forgo our fixation with whats defined.The takeawayWe live in an interconnected reali ty, one in which the effects of actions produce externalities that cant always be predicted. Theres more to life than knowing that two plus two is four.The fable of Thales is telling because, once we extrapolate from it, its a reminder that there is usually more going on around us than we intuitively think, and we should respect that fact.Every choice we make, every action we take, and every effect we produce ripples to create second, third, and fourth-order effects that leave unintended byproducts. Often, its these byproducts that surprise us by giving us an answer we didnt even know we were looking for.It makes sense that we chase arbitrary definitions of success and happiness, and it makes even more sense that we try to define them for ourselves when we realize this, but broken down, the whole enterprise still fails because these things are simply coping mechanisms.They provide a reference point in an imagined future which offers orientation in the present. This is, naturally, va luable, but taken too far, it leads towards a game of disappointment.Complex systems are unpredictable which makes complex goals difficult to design. Rather, a better way of interacting with reality is by focusing on what can be controlled moment-to-moment, adjusting our orientation as we figure it out, letting the externalities play their part.This doesnt mean that we shouldnt strive to be better or that its not worth fulfilling any of our desires. All it means is that the best things in life dont always respond to attention.If we learn to focus on what we simply ought to do, quite often, the rest takes care of itself.Want to think and live smarter? Zat Rana publishes a free weekly newsletter for 30,000+ readers atDesign Luck.

The 3 Hardest Job Interview Questions for Young Professionals

The 3 Hardest Job Interview Questions for Young ProfessionalsThe 3 Hardest Job Interview Questions for Young ProfessionalsYour first job interviews can be nerve-wracking. Youre eager to make a good impression, but you may not feel like you have much experience, either at interviewing or in your professional field. But with a little preparation you can be your best in any interview. Heres how.There are hundreds of potential interview questions you might be asked. The following are tricky because they suggest that you veer a bit into the personal side with your answers.Tell me about yourself.What were you paid in your last position? (Or Whats your salary history?)Do you have any questions for me?Lets get into them.Tell me about yourselfThe question might suggest you start with a description of yourchildhood, then move onto your education and hobbies. Keep it about the work.Start with a successful moment from a previous position. Heres an exampleIve focused on creating visual narrative that tells a story as quickly and effectively as possible. As an example, I was able to cut a video clip to half its length by identifying an entirely new entry point. My boss told me that it more than doubled views.Take that specific example and make it into a statement about a more general strength or ability you possessI particularly enjoy paring a story down to its essential visuals so its impact can be exceptionally clear and direct.End with what youre looking forIm looking for a position where I can put my skills to use. I love contributing. But I also love being in an environment where I can learn and continue to advance my skills.Notice that most of your answers are about helping them.What were you paid in your last position?I recommend not answering this question if at all possible. You want them to evaluate you based on your work and how you present yourself. Your past pay is about who you were before. Its not about who you are now and going into the future.Even if you fee l forced to answer this question, you want to put off answering as long as possible. So, the first step is to turn it aroundWhat have you budgeted for this position?Then, follow up withHow did you determine that range?You can also honestly sayI dont feel that would be relevant information at this point because my skills have improved dramatically- as youve seen- since that compensation package was established.You can also take the initiative and cite your own research withIve reviewed the surveys, and, given my experience, I believe I should be paid $___.And my favorite answerI need to keep my past salary confidential for my employer as well as for myself.Do you have any questions for me?Most people find themselves unprepared for this one. It almost always comes at the end of the interview, and at this point you may be feeling a sense of relief and thinking youve survived, its gone OK, maybe youll even get the offer. And then they hit you with it, and youre on the spot to prove you have your own well-developed, insightful and distinctive questions.The trick is to have own questions prepared in advance. And no matter how enthusiastic you get addressing some of these saatkorn topics during the interview, hold back on a few until the end.By now, you and the interviewer have gotten to know each other a bit. If its gone even reasonably well, youve likely begun forming some kind of a personal connection.You could ask general questions about the job, the company or the industry. All of these would be reasonable. But youcould further that personal bond with the interviewer by addressing something more individual to them, along the lines of the followingWhy did you join the company?What do you like about working here?Whats your favorite part of the job?And, finally, you can say something likeYou are part of a remarkable organization. Your work in short films is game-changing. Id like to be a part of that, and I believe I have a lot to offer.Bonus tip A few more ways to respondKeep these phrases at the ready. You can use them as needed or appropriate in the course of the interview.Help me understand. This is athoughtful, polite way to ask a question that challenges the other person to clarify something murky without insulting them.I started on this journey in grade school when I . Thisestablishes thedepthof your dedication.In my experience . Because everyone, no matter how young or old, has some distinctive experiences of value to offer.Ted Leonhardt helps creative workers define their strengths and own their value in the marketplace. A designer, illustrator, and former Global Creative Director of FITCH Worldwide, Teds specialized approach to negotiation for creatives has been featured in Business Insider, Fast Company, Communication Arts, and HOW Design.