So many people I’ve worked with say things, then don’t remember saying them, or at least don’t remember any of the details of what they said. I’ve started introducing errors when I repeat their words back to them because it seems to help their memory - they want to correct me and it reminds them of what they said.
I am frustrated with my current manager because he seems to have wholesale forgotten things he said. I haven’t yet come up with a good way of responding to “why did you make this decision?” other than “because you said so?”
If I’m pretty busy or a request is long/contains things easy to misremember I ask people to send me their requests via email/IM. What I don’t tell them is that I also make that request if their request is stupid. It’s mostly about making sure that my bad memory or quick note taking doesn’t lead to errors, but there’s the added perk of having my ass covered.
Sounds like you need a dose of good old CYA: summarize everything relevant that he tells you in an email and add something like „let me know if I misunderstood“. Later, when he doubts he ever instructed you to do something, you can dig out the corresponding email.
So many people I’ve worked with say things, then don’t remember saying them, or at least don’t remember any of the details of what they said. I’ve started introducing errors when I repeat their words back to them because it seems to help their memory - they want to correct me and it reminds them of what they said.
I am frustrated with my current manager because he seems to have wholesale forgotten things he said. I haven’t yet come up with a good way of responding to “why did you make this decision?” other than “because you said so?”
If I’m pretty busy or a request is long/contains things easy to misremember I ask people to send me their requests via email/IM. What I don’t tell them is that I also make that request if their request is stupid. It’s mostly about making sure that my bad memory or quick note taking doesn’t lead to errors, but there’s the added perk of having my ass covered.
Sounds like you need a dose of good old CYA: summarize everything relevant that he tells you in an email and add something like „let me know if I misunderstood“. Later, when he doubts he ever instructed you to do something, you can dig out the corresponding email.
He’s a director, so good luck getting him to commit to anything in writing.
That’s why you write it down and send it to him. Then you can at least say “you could have corrected my misunderstanding but didn’t”.
I recognize the wisdom of what you’re saying, but trying to hold him accountable would probably be worse for my career than not doing so.
Fair.