[NFBCS] Unrealistic expectations of team leaders and supervisors on the job

[Jeffrey (JDS)]

As a blind manager who has climbed the ranks of IT organisations for most of
his career, here is my advice.

1. communicate 
Often things break down because of a failure to communicate early, often and
honestly.  This is on either side of the fence.  E.g. some managers try and
spare feelings or trying to be PC.  I've had an employee ask me to be more
direct with them .  I've not held it against them but valued that kind of
directness.  Similarly, don't assume that the way you are communicating with
the team lead is as clear as you think it is.  Try different ways and in
different situations.  The TL might even be trying but forgetting in the
moment.  E.g. 1 starts with awareness, moves to intention and eventually
makes a behavior habit.  E.g. Just because I forget to say my name before
each time I talk during a meeting where I have an employee who is hard of
hearing and has  trouble distinguishing speakers doesn't mean I am
intentionally excluding them from the conversation.    Change is hard.  Be
patient.  Similarly, if you are running into a roadblock seek help from the
TL or from colleagues early.  Then show how you've adjusted.

2. Round peg into square hole
Just because it is being done 1 way doesn't mean it has to be.  Or just
because everyone does task A, B and C doesn't mean everyone needs to.   I'm
a better writer than my colleague and he hates doing that part of the work.
My colleague can fill in forms really quickly.  We swap work all the time in
order to be more efficient.  Look for ways to do this and when you aren't as
quick at doing 1 task maybe there is another you can take on so another team
member is better positioned to support you and you them?

3. time
Save things, store things, organise things.  Often this is the only way to
be efficient.  Your colleagues are doing this, I would suggest it is even
more important that you do this.  Being organised and anticipating tasks,
work and busy times is helpful.  But also having stuff you can cut and paste
or find easily is exceedingly useful.  

The last part of my answer is  be honest with yourself and don't promise
things you can't deliver and don't fail to communicate before a deadline is
missed.  Trust is important and this builds trust.

Happy to talk more on the subject should you find that valuable.



-----Original Message-----
From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Michael Walker via NFBCS
Sent: November 25, 2020 8:19 PM
To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
Cc: Michael Walker <michael.walker199014 at gmail.com>
Subject: [NFBCS] Unrealistic expectations of team leaders and supervisors on
the job

Good evening,

How do you cope with determining whether expectations of a team leader or
supervisor are realistic? Suppose expectations are not realistic, or there
are misconceptions about what you can do on the job in this field. How do
you approach that? Tell me some stories where you have faced that, and what
you did about it. I am completely blind. I am currently experiencing some
conflict with my team leader on this subject. She sometimes has beliefs
about what I am not able to do, or may have unrealistic expectations about
what I can do, regarding possibly frontend development.

Thank you,
Mike
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