How to manage up
I have been a manager for about five years total, and I have been with my team for almost three years. They’re a great bunch of people. They get things done with very little drama. They come to me when things go wrong or when they have problems, whether with me or with someone/something else.
My boss, we will call him William, is a very nice guy. He’s very smart. I like him as a person, and I think he has a lot of knowledge about our field. William says yes to everything and cannot follow through to save his life. My team is very frustrated because we are not getting the answers we need, and we’re not getting the equipment we need - including safety supplies.
I keep a list of all the things I ask William for and whether or not I get them to CYA if it ever comes to that. Yes, I have followed up with him multiple times.
My team and I are increasingly frustrated with William’s lack of follow through - my guess is that he’s just very disorganized and overwhelmed, not malicious. So what do I do? Anything? I don’t know how honest I can be with William, and I don’t know if this pattern is something I should address with someone else in the agency. What do you think?