Pushing back at the office can be “fraught with peril,” as the melodramas say. However, there are times when you have to stand up for yourself. If you do not, you will demonstrate that you can be pushed around, and pushed around is indeed what you will be.
Pushing back sometimes involves explaining to other departments that their wants cannot be accommodated within the limited time frame they have presented. This is where that now-famous slogan undoubtedly came from. That is, the slogan that reads, “Your failure to plan ahead does not constitute my emergency.”
The quote is particularly relevant, when the same people are always disorganized. However, itÂ’s our job to drain the swamp, so we toss snacks to the alligators to keep them as far away as possible, since we canÂ’t easily dispatch them. Eventually, they will get what they need to complete their project, but on our more realistic timetable.
On the other hand, your colleagues down the hall may have been blindsided by a project from on high, and really do need your help. Here is where taking the time to have built relationships really pays off. In this case, some kind of compromise can probably be worked out. It will involve not putting unreasonable demands on your own crew, who still have to keep up with their regular workload. Or not.
Another typical situation, where you will need to push back, involves your own office, when itÂ’s micromanaged. Even normal managers hate employees who push back. However, in the case of micromanagement, you really have little choice. You either push back on a regular basis (but not all the time, of course), or you will never make a decision that stands.
The micromanager is insecure and does not trust her employees to do a job properly. Under heavy stress herself, she wants minute-by-minute accounting of everyoneÂ’s time. Such a controlling individual adds more and more parameters to a job that already has sufficient rigidity. Instead of ensuring that fewer errors are made, micromanagement results in resentment and more mistakes.
If the manager is a Taurus, look out. Steady and dependable, she also follows through on her instructions. If a micromanaging superior has taught her wrong principles, she will stubbornly persist in them. And of course, this also applies to the male of the species.
Put two Taureans up against each other, and the clichés flow, along with the steaming breath. In case you’re stuck for a trite expression, you can start with “a Mexican standoff,” or the Romulans against the Klingons. Both sides could die a horrible death, going down in flames, and perhaps honor. Neither side wants to give ground, and both want to save face, in their own way.
If you are new with the company, or to your position, you will want to pick your battles wisely. That is, at least find out who qualifies as top brass, as well as who actually carries the hatchet. And then, tone down the rhetoric just a little. Of course, if you were specifically hired for your reputation, the VP may be expecting you to stand up for your team or yourself. Pushing back is then an absolute responsibility.
© 2006 Shirley Ann Parker
Shirley Ann Parker is a full-time technical writer. She is also the author of Discoveries: A Journey Through Life, a delightful collection of short stories about the joys and frustrations of family life and friendships. Discoveries is available from http://www.bbotw.com and other online bookstores. Read more about Discoveries at http://www.shirleyannparker.com, and see more of Shirley's creative work at http://www.cafeshops.com/topazcoveplus
