> This is great advice to become a pain in the ass that managers know they need to keep on a short leash.
Not really. The advice is prefixed with this context.
> When you have something you want to do and that you feel is in scope for your position, but you want a bit of reassurance or to let the boss know what you are up to
Basically it's saying if it's your job to make this decision, but it's something where the boss needs to know (or you need them to know because you need a small amount of reassurance), then asking for "yes" fails to communicate your understanding in that regard.
Asking for "yes" says it's the boss's job to make this decision - but we're talking about decisions where you believe it's your job make it.
No. It's just CYA hedging.
If it's your job (per the "context"), then do it.
When you ask this question, it's either
A. escalating/DoA exception (not your authority)
B. Or giving yourself an out if something goes wrong for your existing DoA.
An easy example: you need 5 minutes of planned downtime (which is entirely within SLAs) to execute a major upgrade, but the system is also used by Sales for demos to major new clients. "We're going to take 5 minutes of downtime on Wednesday evening for an upgrade. Contact me ASAP if this is a problem for you." If you don't hear from the team, then it's OK to go.
You know the "no response" happens all the time.
OK. I'm your pointy haired boss Thursday morning.
> Hey, @waisbrot. You didn't mention anything in your note whether you got a response from the Sales team. I got a call from the VP Sales. He's pissed. You know they're at [big sales conference] and busy. The system outage impacted two Top 10 customer account demos. Why didn't you call me if you thought it was important or ask for an affirmative confirmation from the sales team before rolling out changes? Sorry, but I can't trust you. Bring all similar changes to me for approval from now on.
Of course there are routine things or items in your competency that allow for your boss to prioritize supervision elsewhere.
The prospect of going rogue, lighting a fuse, and then potentially setting off fireworks is the nuance being argued here by me and @slowcache.
Poor management will find a stick to beat you with whatever you do.
That's part of my point.
I'm assuming you don't disagree that this "lighting a fuse" approach on something you're unsure about without manager approval (and you think you need their permission -- which is said in the article) is way riskier for your corporate career. You're just taking asymmetric risk.
That's the main point.
Taking it at face value makes it good advice and interpreting it as CYA hedging makes it bad advice. My bet is the author intended the good advice they actually said rather than the bad faith guess to what they meant that makes it bad advice.
And there are plenty of things that are your job, but you would like the boss in the loop on without actually making it their job.
You say if it's your job then do it, and that's roughly what the advice given here is. The only place you're in disagreement is that you don't see any room for nuance when something is your job but worth notifying the boss about in advance.
> The only place you're in disagreement is that you don't see any room for nuance when something is your job but worth notifying the boss about in advance.
You read a different article.
FTA:
> ”Hey, boss, I am going to install action X, which should solve the XYZ problems we’ve been having. Will take care of this on Monday unless I hear differently from you.”
The parent's point is that lighting a fuse and saying you'll do something when the fuse runs out regardless of the boss' approval in a situation where you want to run something by them...is career suicide.
FTA:
> When you have something you want to do and that you feel is in scope for your position, but you want a bit of reassurance or to let the boss know what you are up to, it’s common to reach out and ask them for permission. Don’t. Don’t ask for a yes. Instead, offer a chance to say no, but with a deadline.
The qualifiers of "needing reassurance" and "asking for permission" combined with a notification on a fuse is way different framing than "notifying the boss about it in advance."
> The parent's point is that lighting a fuse and saying you'll do something when the fuse runs out regardless of the boss' approval in a situation where you want to run something by them...is career suicide.
It's not, if that action is a part of your job, something you COULD do just on your own but "you want a bit of reassurance or to let the boss know what you are up to".
It's not really a notification on a fuse, that's a framing you've put on it. It's giving sufficient advanced notice.
You left out:
> ask them for permission
I humbly submit you're still glossing over this. This framing is subtle. There's a difference between getting a peer review from your boss and asking your boss for permission when you think you might need it. Trust your gut.
Compare that to situations where you just want peer review/re-assurance. I agree with you on those situations to just pull the trigger.
The article is saying don't ask for permission! They're not really recommending anything different than what I see you saying throughout this thread.
They are saying it's common to ask permission in cases where you shouldn't, because it's actually your job and you only want a bit of reassurance / to give advanced notice.
Maybe you haven't run across people who do that, but that is what the author is responding to.
I agree directionally and appreciate your effort. I might just be misunderstanding and wrong, which forgive me if you feel like that's the case.
I just don't find the author's point consistent or nuanced about when to apply this (e.g., the size of the changes, the interface with your manager, the supervision/trust relationship).
Look at the closing sentence of the article.
"Offering a chance for feedback" when you're confident that "you don't need feedback" is weird. This is like some paradox. And doesn't match the phrasing of his initial example. This is bad advice that is way overdoing it.
> Again, pursue this approach [...] when you want to offer a chance for feedback, but you are confident enough in the course of action that you don’t need feedback.