Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This has been driving me crazy lately. My boss has a ton on his plate, he is one of the busiest guys in history.
But the thing is, he NEVER writes anything down and has no way of keeping everything organized. He just tries to remember everything, and does a good job of it in general, but sometimes he remembers wrong.
A trend I have noticed recently is that he sometimes thinks he told me (or other employees) to do something, when he actually never mentioned it. Then he asks if we did it and we have no idea what he is talking about.
Just a small example: I ran into town to get some supplies, and he asked me to fill up some diesel containers for some of our vehicles. I was happy to oblige and did it.
When I got back, he asked me whether I got the regular gasoline too. I told him I didn't, because we never talked about it and I didn't realize I was supposed to.
He says, "Yeah we talked about it, you were going to get regular gasoline too."
If it was just one time I would concede there was a possibility that *I* misheard or messed up, but this happens quite a bit, and it's always the same thing.
I never know what to do in the situation, because I want to make sure he knows that I didn't mess up - I'm not going to take the blame for something that wasn't my fault. But it's also a precarious ledge to fire back at your boss that he always thinks that he did or said things in his mind but he really didn't. Especially when that boss has an ego to protect and wouldn't admit it.
Tough situation. The only thing I can think of in your example is before you left to recap what you were going to be getting in town. But obviously that won't work if it is just normal stuff you do during the day.
Either you have him write things down or you write them down and have him confirm it -- email is good but, if not, then simply a scribble on a notepad will do.
Hey boss, please write everything down you thought you told me but didn't.
I don't think that is going to work.
Nah, it's more like "Hey boss, I've written down everything that you told me to get. This is it, right?"
Or "Hey boss, can you write down the things you told me to get? I'm kind of forgetful so I don't want to miss anything."
Nah, it's more like "Hey boss, I've written down everything that you told me to get. This is it, right?"
Or "Hey boss, can you write down the things you told me to get? I'm kind of forgetful so I don't want to miss anything."
And I agree that works if the employee is doing something like running in to town. But not so much on a daily basis. How often are you going to ask your boss to do that?
That's a tough nut. Having him write everything down doesn't really seem like a feasible thing. can you imagine asking that:
Boss: Fuel up the vehicles w/diesel
You: OK, can you write that down for me?
Boss: What are you an idiot?
You: No, I just want to get it right.
Boss: Maybe I can draw you a picture...get the F'n diesel moron.
And can you imagine saying to him "I didn't do it becuase your didn't write it down". No, won't really help your cause my friend.
How long has this lasted? I would think if he's forgetful then he's hearing similar things from other employees and if that's happening he likely won't overlook the fact that multiple people are telling him he didn't tell them things that he thought he did. It should dawn on him.
Other than that, I guess you can talk with him and ask him if he thinks your doing a good job. When he says "Yeah, you're doing fine" tell him that you just wanted to make sure because you noticed there was a miscommunication a couple of times (his forgetfullness) and you want to make sure all was OK. I don;t know you, your boss, or the environment though so take that advice and apply it, manipulate it, disregard it, whatever fits.
I would suggest tools and apps that help me with remembering things and being more efficient as well. If he's that old fashioned give him examples how it helped you. I did that with a family member who has memory issues and it's working so far.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
