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I don't want the details

466 points · 226 comments · mooreds

  1. FartyMcFarter · · focus · HN ↗
    > Then I realised that "I don't want the details" wasn't being dismissive. The executive assumed that we were competent, and was saying "I already believe you. Now let's talk about what happens next".

    Something about this feels wrong:

    - If you trust them completely, you don't need to know what happens next either. Just trust them to do the right things, your leadership isn't required.

    - If you don't trust them completely, how can you know if "what happens next" is appropriate without knowing the details?

    Isn't this just reinforcing the idea that leadership doesn't need to have their feet on the ground?

    The best leaders I've worked with were paying attention to things from the bottom-up as well as top-down.

    1. JoshTriplett · · focus · HN ↗
      You can trust someone to know the details and reasons for why something happened, and still want to provide the specific direction of "what are you doing to make sure it doesn't happen again". The organizational default is often to explain a fault (or worse, focus on blame) without specifically working to find a process improvement to prevent it from happening again.
      1. malvim · · focus · HN ↗
        Except if you don’t know the details, how will you be able to make an informed decision on what happens next?

        - We’ll just fire joe - Ok cool

        I agree with the parent comment. You need SOME level of detail, otherwise your decision might as well be a guess.

        1. jameshart · · focus · HN ↗
          The SVP doesn’t plan on making any decisions here.
          1. jkubicek · · focus · HN ↗
            The SVP doesn't need to make any decisions here. Part of leadership is giving your team the space and time to make the decisions themselves.
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