Comment by malloci
8 years ago
This is an incredibly jaded view. Both cases should be encouraging to anyone in a management position. Spending time to understand the lay of the land shows that the new hire is motivated to learn the system they are working on through the other experts on the team. It shows they care, which is a huge win for any project. If a manager truly took issue with this they shouldn’t be managing. It’s also a clear sign to find something else quickly!
And jaded is not good now? Wow I must be really jaded.
Do you think it's normal for software managers to refuse to let their employees schedule 30 minute meetings? That seems absurd to me and would qualify as more dysfunctional than any workplace I've ever been in.
This is knowledge work we're doing here; we're not working the assembly line.
jaded : Bored or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something. [0] - hm?
Lacking in enthusiasm, perhaps. There is something to be said for people who venture into every new setting with an optimistic mindset, and not caring if they should tiptoe round, so agree inasmuch.
On the other hand (based on 40 years+ of professional experience), workplaces are in reality on a spectrum regarding these things (not binary good or bad), and peoples seniority as well as their need to take any job in the lower end are on a spectrum as well (some need to take what is provided because of location or other factors). In certain intersections of these factors I'd still say be careful to follow the advice in the linked article very literally.
In the appropriate cases I'd say it was excellent advice though, perhaps that wasn't clear enough.
[0] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/jaded
That's a pretty bad definition of jaded:
"made dull, apathetic, or cynical by experience or by having or seeing too much of something" [1]
I would say that someone who feels that it's commonplace for managers to refuse to allow new employees to schedule 30 minutes with other members of their team while on-boarding would fit the definition of being overly cynical.
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jaded
Not to be nitpicking, but I said 'there are circumstances' which is not the same as 'it's commonplace' (it's actually implying edge cases).
That said, thanks for a better definition of 'jaded' even if not applicable! :-)
It also suggests "cynical." See definition #2:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jaded