Global vs detail oriented brain 5

[epoisses]

We all know the anecdotes about micro managers and other detail minded people. My boss is detail minded, actually several colleagues are detail minded and I have the impression that it's the company culture, or let's say it has worsened because it hadn't struck me when I joined a couple years ago. I am global myself and I usually think of "translating" messages to detail minded people, i.e.: throw in a dozen small, not necessarily relevant items so the message does not fit on one page and their interest is immediately tickled. ;-)

The other day I forgot to do so though. After I sent out a (short!) list of actions resulting from a meeting, my boss replied to all: did you discuss X, Y and Z? I responsed: yes, yes and no, with the idea in the back of my mind that I would bump into him later that day to discuss further. My detail minded co-worker apparently saw an open goal and sent a much more detailed reply to all. My boss replied to all thanking the other guy for his useful response and publicly told me off for having sent a reply "of no interest". Which of course is TRUE... for a DETAIL minded person!

But after that the issue started to haunt me. This is not the first "detail minded company" I work in. The anecdotes about micro managers are so generic it almost seems as though you have to be detail minded to get anywhere higher up the food chain, as contradictory as this may seem. Detail minded often gets confused with "driven", "dedicated", "rigorous"... or is it really the same thing!? I get sooo booored with details, I prefer to work with global people, I actually think many global people have a sense of humor while many detailed people don't (sorry it's not a pleasant thing to say), but are global people really fit for corporate life if they get bored so quickly? Is a global brain simply a lazy brain?? (You can see the existential crisis I'm in today...)

 

[ykee]

HgTX -- I've got the same problem. My boss hates sharing any information, and unless I ask pointed and direct questions, I will never get the answers that I want -- Not that I get them even when I ask.

Where do we sign our bosses up for boss training?

 

[IRstuff]

Sounds like your bosses have been training you, but also failing miserably at it.

Since you already know what the resultant behavior will be, persistenting in persuing that avenue smacks of masochism at the very least, or, a desire for confrontations.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[HgTX]

It's just really hard to internalize the notion that someone with nothing to hide will withhold information I ask for. And short of appending "and I really do want you to answer it" to every question, I don't know how to go about getting information in a better way than a direct question.

Some people just like to hoard information. Every once in a while I manage to point to an example of something that went wrong because of this, and the situation improves for a while, but it doesn't take long for the pattern to set back in.

Hg

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[ykee]

I've noticed that the older the manager, the more likely they are to hoard info (younger managers with self-worth issues). I think it goes back to some sort of archance ideas of pecking order & protecting a position.

 

[IRstuff]

I get it that your managers have their issues; the question is why do YOU persist in asking questions that will never yield the answers you want.

There's not necessarily much you can do with a manager's entrenched mind, but your expectations and behaviors ought to accommodate those responses. Particularly if it's frustrating you; so why do YOU still do that?

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[ykee]

Maybe I'm coming across the wrong way, it doesn't really bug me any more -- I'm just making observations. It's something I deal with, and think of as quirky beahviour. There are bigger fish to fry!

 

[HgTX]

You make it seem like I keep asking the same question. Are you saying I should just never ask any more questions? Cuz that's just ridiculous.

I'm at a loss, though, for figuring out a *way* to ask questions, in general, to get me a better result. As I said, following each question with "and I really did mean that I wanted a full answer to that" just doesn't seem like a good idea.

Hg

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[KENAT]

Perhaps with this manager if you want a detailed answer you need a detailed question?

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[IRstuff]

After 6 years, he still hasn't learned that when I ask, "What is happening with X?" the correct answer is NOT "It's being taken care of."

Sounds like a recurring theme to me.

What you didn't say was whether you ever get the answers you're looking for. If yes, then ther's hope, possibly starting out with "I need a detailed breakdown about what's happening with XY." Or perhaps, he's just pulling your chain, because he can, and because you react.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[cvg]

perhaps "its being taken care of" is the correct answer and you are asking for information he does not want to share with you. After all, he is your boss and can share any or all information he wants on a need to know basis.

 

[HgTX]

If I'm really not allowed to know, he'll tell me I'm not allowed to know.

Other than confidential human resources issues that I can't legally be told about, though, I need to know pretty much everything that goes on. I'm his backup if he's not here, and there have been many occasions where I needed information and didn't have it.

It's not just me. I had another manager from another section ask me why my manager had given a non-answer to something.

I think "I need a detailed breakdown" is a good start. I'll try something like that next time.

Hg

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[cvg]

some people will withhold information to try and make themselves seem more important. they become the only source of the important details. This is bad business practice for the reasons you have already mentioned. However, it still happens, all the time. It sounds like your boss is not a good team player.

 

[doberdorks]

Where do we sign our bosses up for boss training?

Actually the book "Don't shoot the dog" by Karen Pryor is not a dog training book at all, but a book on how to train humans...

Worth a read in some cases, just don't tell your boss you're training them.

SLH

 

[GonzaloEE]

I also like details, though in my short experience I've seen global-minded guys end up managing detail-oriented minds. Maybe it has something to do with human nature. If you can explain any problem in simple terms to managers or customers, they'll likely think of you as smarter guy. From then on, promotions and more challenging positions are just a matter of time. No general in history win battles by memorizing how many rounds each soldier has, but being able to get the big picture of the battle, and sharing it w/his staff.

Detail oriented minds are more suitable for technical environments, where people skills are less needed. Machines and devices won't talk, so a scanner-like mind will find out the small points of failure where a global-mind won't.

 

[ykee]

GonzaloEE I do think that global oriented is more prone to becoming management because they can explain things quickly (not to be confused with accurately). I don't think people perceive this as being smart, but, as having the ability to communicate and be understood. No one like talking to someone they can't understand, and in this sense, the global oriented mind acts as the interpreter. I think sometimes this works well, but often it works badly -- just like Dilbert!

 

[IRstuff]

If you can explain any problem in simple terms to managers or customers, they'll likely think of you as smarter guy.

Compared to one who can't, you ARE smarter.

You can be the smartest person in the world on a particular subject, but if you can't explain things so that others can understand, how would they even know that you're smart?

I would also dispute the implication that smart people can't be global.

Not seeing the forest for the trees is often a problem. Local optimizations do not necessarily lead to global optimizations. That's why global views are necessarily in the design process, not just in the management.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

Maybe the smartest people are those who have a good blend of each.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[ykee]

hmmmmm.....I think global/smart is like comparing apples & oranges.

 

[IRstuff]

Why is that? If you needed a car designed, wouldn't you rather have someone that can design 100% of it, even if it isn't fully optimized, rather than have someone who can only design the best brakes in the world?

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[kevindurette]

I work with global people. I like my global culture. I've worked in detailed environments, and frankly I think they're inefficient.