this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2024
38 points (91.3% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27212 readers
1937 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected] or [email protected]


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] DandomRude 6 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Why not consult the people who actually know their stuff? It doesn't have to be a meeting with presentations, expectations and all that. Don't you think that management could use your help and advice to make good strategic decisions in the long term?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Why not consult the people who actually know their stuff?

I mean questioning as in second-guessing the people who actually know stuff. Not asking experts for their honest thoughts.

Don’t you think that management could use your help and advice to make good strategic decisions in the long term?

Management is one thing - C-levels is yet another kettle of fish.

In my experience C-levels rarely want the technical answer to a question, and will be personally insulted / defensive if the answer is something they don't understand. And they will ask their questions in such a way as to insult the expert. Two negative results that don't help the business in any way.

But Dept heads and the PM office will often be able to explain why certain choices were made, and how that aligns with the business needs, without the complexities that cause misunderstanding between two people of such wildly divergent skillsets.

Now if the CEO can also write the code, or run the wetlab instruments, and really does want the nitty-gritty, complex technical answer, that is a different story. And rarely the case in my career.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

A C-suite executive isn't making decisions from a technical point of view. They have to balance their decisions across the counsel of several experts in their fields to choose the best option, with those recommendations constantly in conflict.

A C-suite executive is likely going to focus more on the impacts of the decision made, which can be a far different conversation than a technical expert is used to having.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

I think we agree. CEO should not be making decisions from a technical point of view, so they should not be second-guessing the technical people.

I'm at the stage of my career that pretty much every job I take, I report directly to the CEO. And the difference between what they should do and what they actually do is why I made my statement at the top of this thread.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Why not consult the people who actually know their stuff?

You do to some extent, mainly to verify that the technical aspects underpinning the decision is sound. However:

  • By going past the department head, you are cutting out the person who is likely going to be responsible in implementing the decision. It can be frustrating implementing a decision that you had little input on.
  • The technical expert may not fully understand the non-technical ramifications of a decision. What sounds like a small change could end up costing millions or have regulatory implications.
[–] DandomRude 2 points 3 months ago

That's right, it's certainly not a good idea to leave the head of department out of the loop - this position should definitely be informed about every relevant process. I just think that it's in everyone's interest if senior management can be seen by the "common people" from time to time. It shows appreciation for the work and opinions of all employees and is also a good opportunity to make sure that no important aspects or overly technical details may have been lost on the way from the head of department to the executive floor. Just as you say.