TrustMeIamWorkingOnIt

How many times have I heard some manager say "Trust me I am working on it".

Usually this is a good clue that the issue is very important.

I have hardly ever seen any results when this phrase is used. It is not so much the lack of progress which bothers me, since usually there is a really hard problem here, but the lack of transparency is most frustrating. Is the problem really being addressed? Is it being addressed in a productive manner? Is it easier to ingore the issue and assuage the troops with simple plattitues?

Ken Estes

Trust me. I am working on a reply.

SteveSmith 2005.08.29

Okay, Steve. I'll be back to you tomorrow to get a date when you'll have a progress report. You can post it here to save me a visit to your office. Otherwise, I'll see you then. - JerryWeinberg 2005.08.29

Somebody once told me that the actual translation for this phrase is: I don't have a clue what to do!.

JohnSuzuki 2005.08.29

Jerry writes Okay, Steve. I'll be back to you tomorrow to get a date when you'll have a progress report. You can post it here to save me a visit to your office. Otherwise, I'll see you then.

Jerry, your double bind set of alternatives caught me and forced a reply, which wouldn't have happened otherwise. I didn't know what to say so I said Trust me, I am working on it to buy me some time. My response and motives confirms what John said.

SteveSmith 2005.08.30

Jerry, I really enjoyed your response. However I was envisioning dealing with my supervisor not a subordinate. It would be hard for me to demand a progress report from someone that I report to. Yet the lack of information about what they are doing to improve the situation damages their credibility. Coming from a boss "trust me" sound like "I know whats best for you", "I work in mysterious ways that you are not mature enough to understand.".

Usually they follow this with "Well we have problems, but nothing in life is perfect". I wish to reply "How do you know these problems could not be avoided", but that would make me sound too much like a smartass.

KenEstes 2005.08.30

How about something like "Maybe we can work together to avoid or mitigate some of them". Make it our problem, not his or yours. SherryHeinze 2005.08.30

Ken said It would be hard for me to demand a progress report from someone that I report to.

Can you think of him as someone who is, for this task at least, working for you?

Could you request a progress report? I'll bet his response would give you interesting information.

DaleEmery 2005.08.30

I like Sherry's response, and Dale's framing. I didn't demand anything from Steve; I just told him what I was going to do and offered him a choice.

Well, Steve, I'll come by to help you, since you seem to be stuck. I know we both want to succeed with this. - JerryWeinberg 2005.08.30

Updated: Tuesday, August 30, 2005