{"id":15243,"date":"2015-12-16T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simpleprogrammer.com\/?p=15243"},"modified":"2018-04-12T01:42:02","modified_gmt":"2018-04-12T05:42:02","slug":"ways-to-frustrate-your-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simpleprogrammer.com\/ways-to-frustrate-your-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways You Frustrate Your Boss"},"content":{"rendered":"

No doubt you are an awesome programmer.\\n\\nYou know all about test driven development<\/a>, design patterns<\/a>, and the evils of comments<\/a>, have mastered multiple programming languages (including the latest hot JavaScript framework), and can probably recite the Agile Manifesto<\/a> in your sleep.\\n\\nHeck you probably aced all 12 steps of the Simple Programmer Test<\/a>!\\n\\nYet despite all this, you still frustrate your boss and probably don’t even know it<\/strong>.\\n\\nHere’s five ways I discovered I was frustrating my bosses and what I should have been doing instead.\\n\\n<\/p>\n

1. Not providing options<\/h2>\n

\\n\\nAs programmers we tend to think in binary terms: yes\/no, on\/off<\/em>, and can\/can\u2019t<\/em>. It\u2019s that last one that can get us in trouble with the boss.\\n\\n\"JobCan’t is usually used in the sentence “It can’t be done.” Anytime you say that to your boss what your boss really hears you say is, “I’m lazy.<\/strong>” Let me explain.\\n\\nIn business, and in life, there is no such thing as “It can’t be done.” The client will not accept this, your boss won’t accept it, and neither should you! It is a defeatist statement that destroys rather than creates.\\n\\nWhat you should ask is, “What can we do?” Find some alternative options and lay them out for your boss.\\n\\nWhen you say “It can’t be done,” your boss sees you as lazy because you\u2019re already saying it can\u2019t be done even if you haven\u2019t begun to do the hard work of formulating possible solutions yet.\\n\\nYou didn’t spend any time thinking through the possibilities or alternatives. You didn’t spend any time planning out how this could be achieved in multiple stages. You didn’t spend any time trying to come up with a quick win to make the client happy.\\n\\nSo now your boss is mad because you’ve clearly demonstrated you are lazy, and, not only that, he can’t even make a decision on how to move forward because you haven’t given him any options<\/strong>.\\n\\nDo this too many times, and your boss will start dragging you off challenging, but rewarding, projects. In the end, your career will stagnate.\\n\\nDon’t fall into this trap. Take a couple of hours, brainstorm some ideas, get creative, think outside the box, and present them to your boss as options. He’ll love you for it!\\n\\n<\/p>\n

2. Spinning your wheels<\/h2>\n

\\n\\nNow we’ve already established that you are an awesome programmer, possibly even the Master Chief Programmer<\/a>. Don’t believe your own press too much though, because at some point in your career, you will come across a problem that will stump you.\\n\\nWhen you get stumped you’ll have two choices to make:\\n\\n<\/p>\n

    \\n <\/p>\n
  1. Figure it out yourself<\/li>\n

    \\n <\/p>\n

  2. Ask for help<\/li>\n

    \\n<\/ol>\n

    \\n\\nWhen faced with a difficult problem, lots of programmers try to figure it out<\/em> themselves. It’s pretty easy to understand why and it’s a common trait amongst many smart people: pride.\\n\\n\"FrustratedYep, that’s right… pride.<\/strong>\\n\\nYou may not agree with me but most programmers think they are of above average intelligence. Now being confident is much better than having low self-esteem but it can trip you up, and this is one of those situations.\\n\\nInstead of asking for help, you try to figure it out yourself, because you don’t want to look dumb to your peers or boss. It’ll be embarrassing if you have to ask for help, as you’ll look less intelligent, especially if it turns out to be something really simple.\\n\\nIn some cases, the problem usually is simple, but, because you are so deep in the weeds, you can’t see it. So, you spend more time trying to figure it out.\\n\\nNow you are really starting to spin your wheels<\/strong>. You are doing lots of things, but you aren’t making any progress and are getting even more worried.\\n\\nIf you ask for help now, they’ll ask you why you’ve wasted so much time, and you’ll look even dumber.\\n\\nSo you double down and try even harder to figure it out!\\n\\nInevitably, you have to eat humble pie, ask for help, admit to wasting all this time, and take a hit to your fragile ego.\\n\\nWhen the boss finds out he may conclude you are a moron, and rightly so, because you should have just asked for help in the first place and saved yourself and your company a lot of time.\\n\\nI learned this the hard way and looked like a complete goose to my boss. It was embarrassing and painful<\/strong>. Far more painful than if I’d just asked for help straight away.\\n\\nIf you get known as the won’t-ask-for-help<\/em> dude<\/em>, you’ll find the boss will increasingly get frustrated with your inability to get s@#t done.\\n\\nSo don’t spin your wheels! Instead swallow your pride, ask for help, and get on with shipping product.\\n\\n<\/p>\n

    3. Being unprepared<\/h2>\n

    \\n\\nThe brain is an amazing thing. It stores copious amounts of information that can be retrieved in mere milliseconds.\\n\\nUnfortunately, this makes many programmers believe they can just wing it<\/em> a lot of the time. This is a big mistake.<\/strong>\\n\\nLet me give you an example. The boss calls a meeting to discuss an upcoming feature or a recurring performance issue that has everyone stumped.\\n\\nThe meeting starts and it is clear that a large number of people have not prepared for the meeting as the room is eerily silent. This frustrates your boss!\\n\\nNot being prepared for the meeting causes your boss to think a number of things about you:\\n\\n<\/p>\n