Markbert

Why I am Dilbert.

Scott Adams, the author of Dilbert, says he gets a lot of suggestions from corporate America. I believe him. Here is a real example from my corporate cubical career. A co-worker and I were working for a boss who had no clue as to what we did. He would give us tasks based on his non-existent knowledge of what we did, complete with how long he thought the tasks would take. My co-worker would look at his tasks, knowing they were impossible to finish, nod and say "OK." Me, being the honest smuck I am, would point out that the tasks couldn't fit in the time table. Our boss would ask why not. When I explained why not, I would get a lecture on the benefits of working nights and weekends in addition to my 10+ hour days.

When we had our next meeting, I would have completed everything I had committed to, plus any crisis that was thrown my way. My coworker had completed what he could get done in eight hour days (minus lunch and surfing). This was less than half of what he committed to at the last meeting. When asked why he didn't complete everything he said he would, he would look the boss in eye and say, "I didn't get to it."

The end result, my coworker was commended for his 'can do' attitude and I was deemed, 'not a team player.'

Here is a bit of advice for all the Pointy Haired Bosses out there:
One way to lead is to build credibility. You do not build credibility by beating up your team for not coming in on the weekends, when you don't even have the keys to open the building. You do not build credibility by telling your team they don't work enough hours, then handing them four to eight hours worth of work at 18:30, then leaving. You do not build credibility by telling your team that their hard work will be rewarded, then handing out lukewarm reviews while telling your employees that they should have gotten better for all the work they did.

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