Management Training

There is a sort of evolution at most companies where, over time, lower-level employees can rise up through the ranks and eventually become part of the management team. It turns out that many folks who are considered management never actually receive formal training, they are just left to figure things out on their own. However, I have consistently seen two common principles that most in management seem to employ:

1). Those sitting closest to the boss's office will be given the most assignments. What seems to happen is that the boss has a task that needs to be done and goes out in search of someone whose lap it can be dumped in. The first office where the boss finds a worker sitting at their desk is given the job. The bottom line is that if you are sure to stay away from your office, either by taking extra long lunches, arriving to work late or leaving early, you increase your chances of not getting assigned extra work.

2). If you complain about something or raise an objection, then you can be sure that the boss will ask you to head up a committee to look into it. The bottom line is that if you don't want to be stuck with extra work, keep your objections to yourself, no matter how reasonable they are.

It's funny how often the rank-and-file workers complain about how management is so unreasonable, so ineffective, so illogical and random, and then when those same workers are promoted into management, they quickly adopt the exact same approaches.