Politics Made Simple: The Hands-Off

Sometimes, we work with someone who is not engaged enough. Often, these people have a narrow set of abilities but a job with far reaching responsibilities… think the salesman who gets promoted to sales manager, or the boss who you need a quick response from who is sitting on a pile of 400 emails to work through. I’m going to address this specifically as a management type because the hands-off individual is not a problem, you just work around them.

How to recognize Hands-Off Managers

• They may be (overly) detailed in one particular area
• They have difficulty articulating others’ strengths and weaknesses
• They generally talk about things and activities… but not people
• They give little feedback.
• They hold few meetings.
• They can be uncomfortable talking about/engaging in management… preferring to focus on the work itself.

How to work with Hands-Off Managers

• Keep descriptions and updates short and sweet.
• When presenting new ideas, present both the idea and how you will execute it with minimal work on their part.
• Handle their administrative responsibilities for them.
• Highlight benefits that relate to efficiencies rather than benefits related to people.
• Be prepared to discuss details that fall within their realm of technical knowledge.

Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.