{"id":224150,"date":"2021-04-09T17:13:20","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T14:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-separates-a-good-manager-from-a-bad-one-bullshitting-2\/"},"modified":"2021-04-09T17:13:20","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T14:13:20","slug":"what-separates-a-good-manager-from-a-bad-one-bullshitting-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-separates-a-good-manager-from-a-bad-one-bullshitting-2\/","title":{"rendered":"#What separates a good manager from a bad one? Bullshitting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2583714694b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2583714694b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-separates-a-good-manager-from-a-bad-one-bullshitting-2\/#Skills_in_action\" >Skills in action<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#What separates a good manager from a bad one? Bullshitting<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2021%2F04%2Fboris-bullshit-gq.png&amp;signature=ee9e5673041add7cd2efd6289f983269\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n                            You should be continually outsmarted by the people you manage. If you\u2019re not, you\u2019ve hired the wrong people \u2014 or you\u2019re just a bad manager.<\/p>\n<p>The downside of hiring people more brilliant than you is they\u2019ll be challenging to manage or argue with. The people you hire are the experts \u2014 <em>not you<\/em> \u2014 so what\u2019s the point of having them around if you\u2019re not going to listen? But you still have a role as a manager and, very often, it is about more than just the facts of the case.<\/p>\n<p><span>So how do I deal with this? Bullshitting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I know this sounds awful\u2026 but it was the first step towards developing a pretty solid work skill. Let me set the scene:<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve got one team member who might argue a convincing case with a lot of factual information that\u2019s pretty impossible to refute, but another member vehemently arguing against it. You then sense that perhaps the frustration is about a different topic altogether.<\/p>\n<p>Your responsibility in these cases is not to have more facts, but look at how they are presented \u2014 and act on that.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been in discussions like these where the topic was way over my head, but I still managed to understand what the underlying message was \u2014 despite not having the technical expertise \u2014 and then develop a solution that made it seem like I knew what I was talking about.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s partly bluffing, part psychology, a pinch of experience, and some diplomacy \u2014 but mostly it\u2019s about making use of context clues. The risk, however, is that you start believing your own bullshit and think you\u2019re an expert on anything\u2026 and I unfortunately do think I\u2019m an expert in pretty much anything. Which I\u2019m <em>not<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>People will often shy away from a topic because they don\u2019t feel like they\u2019re experts or worry they\u2019ll be exposed. In those cases, \u2018bullshitting\u2019 can help you take the initial step.<\/p>\n<p>Over my career, I built up the confidence to comment on things that are \u2018over my head\u2019 by believing I can have something sensible to contribute if I take the time to objectively and logically think about a subject.<\/p>\n<p>My most recent achievement in using this skill, while not over-believing in my own bullshit, wasn\u2019t in the boardroom though \u2014 it was when I was getting a manicure with my daughter.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Skills_in_action\"><\/span><strong>Skills in action<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>My daughter is 19 now, and I cherish any time I can still spend with her before she ventures out into the world and permanently forgets I exist. So if she invites me to tag along to get a manicure, I\u2019m <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, we\u2019re there and her manicurist asks her if she wants her fingernails filed squared or rounded. I think she enjoys putting me on the spot, as she turned around and said, \u201cdad, rounded nails or more squared off?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, despite my huge ego, I\u2019m no expert in fingernail design or manicure techniques, but I\u2019ve conditioned myself to think logically and come up with an answer to anything \u2014 even if it\u2019s just my best guess.<\/p>\n<p>I thought about the question for a few seconds, pulling at every scrap of info and context I had in my brain, and then said: \u201cWell, you\u2019re trying to stop biting your fingernails, and they\u2019re kinda short, so if you go for rounded, they\u2019ll look longer, and you\u2019ll be less inclined to bite them because there are no sharp corners on them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said it loud enough to hopefully impress whoever was listening, and it worked: both her and my manicurist looked up from their work in surprise and agreed this was good advice.<\/p>\n<p>Now again, I was simply scrambling for a logical answer to a question I have no knowledge or experience of \u2014 but I managed to make the best assumption based on knowing what the people involved really meant.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of mansplaining manicuring and pretending to be an actual expert, I gave a thoughtful opinion on something I took the time to think about \u2014 one that would hopefully charm and impress one that would hopefully charm and impress people. And it worked.<\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s the big lesson? Based on this story, we can conclude a few things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>My hands (and my daughter\u2019s) look great now.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s possible to logically take part in any discussion, even if you\u2019re not an expert, by thinking logically and having empathy.<\/li>\n<li>You should never start believing your own bullshit and think you know better than the experts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now excuse me, I\u2019ve got a pedicurist to wow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-article-read-next\">\n    <b>Read next:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>        Adventures with AI: Can computer vision and GPT-3 get me fit?    <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/editorial.thenextweb.com\/growth-quarters\/2021\/04\/09\/what-separates-a-good-manager-from-a-bad-one-bullshitting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What separates a good manager from a bad one? Bullshitting&#8221; You should be continually outsmarted by the people you manage. If you\u2019re not, you\u2019ve hired the wrong people \u2014 or you\u2019re just a bad manager. The downside of hiring people more brilliant than you is they\u2019ll be challenging to manage or argue with. The people&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":224151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/04\/boris-bullshit-gq.png&signature=074ba6fd63707feff7bcfa7062a31564","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[71612,74286,98882],"class_list":["post-224150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-insights","tag-skill","tag-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}