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Onirio delves, just for you, into all those delicate, sometimes seemingly improbable (but oh-so-real!) challenges that the world of management throws our way. In each episode, you'll find tips to gain some perspective and expertly navigate through your tricky managerial situations

Today's episode reminds us that being a manager isn't just about managing your team. It's also about managing yourself!

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🛶Gall of the day: What to do when your boss is a weather vane?

Your manager will soon be back from his vacations, and you're almost trembling. Every time, it's the same circus: he comes back all enthusiastic with a thousand new ideas. In itself, this could be very positive... BUT - every time - he asks you to mobilize your team as a matter of urgency to launch his topics of the moment, sometimes inconsistent with current projects. You're all at your wits' end with these incessant changes of priorities...

What to do?

⛔ Mind the mistakes!

Several reactions might be tempting:

Indulge yourself with a touch of sarcasm: Don't you want to head back on vacation? It'd be like a holiday for us
Tell him "yes, all right", but don't alter your plan at all, thinking he'll soon forget his wild ideas
Immediately call a meeting with your team and add these new topics to their already overloaded agenda
Assure him that his ideas are brilliant and that your team will get on them as soon as they have some time (spoiler: they'll never find the time!)
List out all the operational issues, hoping to convince him not to change anything

With these reactions, you're likely to strain relations with your boss, your team, or even worse, both.

How to react properly?

1 - Listen and clarify the stakes

When your manager shifts priorities or talks about new ideas, take the time to listen carefully to their motivations and the reasons behind these forthcoming ideas/changes.

Some key questions to ask your boss:

What problems are you trying to solve?
What concrete results do you hope to achieve? By when?
Why is this a priority today?
How has the context changed recently?
How does this affect the strategy we've been following until now?

In this phase, stay receptive, gather the information, but don't respond impulsively.

2 - Step back and assess the impact on your team

You have all the information you need to analyze the impact of these new priorities on your team:

Are your manager's ideas feasible? What are the constraints or limits?
What is the workload required to implement the new topics?
Does the team have the skills needed?
Is this feasible without compromising the ongoing work and the team's well-being?
What additional budget or resources should be planned for?

These factual points will allow you to discuss further with your manager

3 - Jointly decide on priorities

The aim here is to validate your team's roadmap with your manager:

Recall the topics your team is currently working on, the current workload and the implications of the changes for them.
Decide together on objectives, priorities and the associated action plan
Explicitly accept the trade-offs (e.g. postponing a project) or the means (e.g. additional resources) that this implies

The aim is to be fully aligned on the short-term direction.

4 - Provide clear rationale for the team on priorities

If priorities shift, it's essential to provide clarity and meaning to your team. And for that, transparent communication is crucial. To help you structure the communication, you can use the template provided below:

À for the next episode!

In each episode, Onirio explores a managerial situation and gives you advice on how to take a step back and adopt the right reflexes!

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Have you experienced managerial difficulties? Inspire us!

We're sure you've been in plenty of situations that would merit an article 😉. And we're always looking for inspiration for our next episodes. So drop us a line with a description of your troubles! We'll be delighted to explore your situations!

Episode #11 - Surviving a boss with ever-changing priorities