What do you do when your manager doesn't understand the problem?
Conversation: Me: "If we keep going as we are, I'm worried that we will not be able to do these 3 things. We simply don't have capacity." Manager: "I have full confidence in you, your team, and that you'll figure it out." What in the world does that mean? This isn't the first time, either. Why would a manager insist on answering questions this way?
Dude this is like every conversation between me and my mom when I was 15 yrs old.. all good :-)
He understands but giving you ownership to fix it. While what you want to do is give up
He is expecting you to prioritize and figure out how to solve the problem. He is telling you he has confidence in your ability to solve the problem. He is providing you an opportunity to stand out by solving a problem instead of just dumping it on him. Honestly, an employee that has a problem should always at least provide possible solutions instead of just complaining. Even if the solutions aren’t that great, at least you are trying to solve the problem.
Usually, I'm on board with that argument. When it comes to being overworked, though, the situation seems different. I'm already trying my best and exhausted and overworked. I've already tried a bunch of different things and the situation is not changing at all. I've already communicated what type of person needed to be hired to handle the workload. I've already asked which things we can delay because I see no other way. Honestly, I'm not willing to put any more of my free time trying to solve it and it's not like I haven't spent time thinking about solutions. It's that I don't have any. And I would much rather the problem be solved than me standing out from having solved it.
That is why he is called a Manager, not a Leader. I would present the facts and call out the risks in an email, and try my best, if things fail, you have data to back it up. Nothing else can be done.
They’re asking you to work more hours to solve it or they don’t really give a shit about your area at the moment. Do they also manage other teams?
Rather than just say the current plan is an issue, have you come up with proposal of something that does work?
Broaden your scope. What are the problems? If you had a blank check, could you solve them? If so, then it's just a cost management problem. Figure out how to manage the costs and deliver the solution. Are there half-solutions or temporary solutions that would meet the needs at hand? Explore them, offer them up as a compromise. Your manager's job is to shield you from bureaucracy while standing by and watching you *almost* drown, so you can learn to swim. You may be tired of being wet, but you aren't swimming yet. TL;DR: this is a test.
Change the narrative. We don't have capacity to do 3 things, so we are going to do these 2 first and do the the third as a fast follow. The third thing will come in two months late. Have a reason for why you picked which aspect to postpone and go prepared to demonstrate that you have explored all other options and this is the best one
You need to learn how to deal with your particular manager. For example, with my manager, I now propose solutions for moving forward, rather than complain about problems. Usually I either get the OK to go ahead or get his opinion for fixing the problem. Whereas simply complaining doesn’t usually give me great results.
Means if you figure it out, you’re getting a promotion. You got this buddy.. I believe in you
Means if you figure it out, you won’t get the blame.
And if I don't figure it out, then I will?