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Hi Agents –
I find myself in an awkward position at work. The company director (my direct supervisor) asked me to give him a report with compiled data from five technical managers, all of whom report to the deputy director (my peer). I sent an email to these five colleagues, requesting they send me their various bits of information so I could compile the report. I gave them plenty of lead time and the information I requested was easily accessible to them.
By the day of the deadline, only two managers had sent me the requested data. I sent a reminder email, with a new deadline a few days forward. As the deadline came and went, with no additional responses, I dithered about what to do. Finally, I asked the deputy director to send a request on my behalf. One manager did not ever reply. The two remaining managers replied by simply telling me that the requested information was available to me on the company computer server.
I would need several weeks to search and sift through all the company documents on the server to find the requisite information! The deputy director made no comment or reply to their responses (and the one lack of response).
These non-responsive managers do not report to me. I am somewhat outside of their chain of command. While I do not want to appear weak with the company director, I do not have the time to sort through the whole company server to find the information myself. What should I do?
-P.L.
Agent N1 says:
Wow! What a disempowering situation!
There is a diplomatic way to solve this problem, without appearing weak or implicating the deputy director as a poor manager. When you are next with both the director and the deputy director, ask for clarification of your role and responsibilities vis a vis obtaining information from the managers. Ask both of them if this is the responsibility of the respective managers. At the same time, ask the director if you are expected to spend (extrordinary amounts of) time retrieving information which the managers should have at their fingertips.
By posing these questions, no one is weak and no one is at fault. You are being responsible. You are asking so that you can meet your deadlines and achieve goals. If your role in such projects is unclear to you, then it is likely to be unclear to both the deputy and the managers. Your actions are in fact, helping the director and company achieve its objectives! Well done!!
I agree with Agent N that by posing the questions to the two key stakeholders, Company Director and Deputy Director, you are gathering requirements for fulfilling your role and achieving goals.
One other suggestion: avoid email and try the phone if they are not on site or try setting up time to meeting with them face to face if it’s not as easy as walking up to each of them during the work day. Sometimes the human touch can create more urgency for them by making them more accountable, and it can help you to set up your case and solicit understanding or empathy from these otherwise unresponsive managers.
Agent S1 says:
Ugh…! When I hear about situations like this, I’m reminded of the reasons I’m so happy working for myself 🙂 … But even though I no longer deal with internal non-response, I still have to deal with it. In my case, it’s with clients, and I have some leverage because I tell clients that if they can’t meet a deadline to provide certain information, that we’ll need to adjust the entire project schedule. This usually gets their attention. And if they miss a deadline, I’m quick to explain the implications on overall timeline.
This works because the folks with the deadline are invested in the project and if the project launches late, it reflects poorly on them.
In addition to Agents N & M’s thoughts above, I’d think about ways (next time) to get the managers invested in the product/project (in your case, the report). This might mean explaining to them how and why the report and deadline is important (the Director and Deputy Director need to support you on this). It might also mean publishing a schedule with who is responsible for exactly what and when. And the more specific it is, the better. The response you got (“the info is on the server”) is not what you were hoping for. Sometimes it helps to create an example of the kind of information you need, or a form to fill out. Yes, more work up front, but it will help in the long run if one of the reasons for non-response is simply that the managers aren’t quite sure what they’re supposed to do.
Some other agents and readers out there may have great suggestions as well…
What would you do if you were P.L.? — please comment below!
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