When All Your Options Are Bad

Ken was thrilled to be named lead for the HumongoCorp job. But thrill turned to chill as he scanned the email from HumongoCorp's CIO, Margo: Oscar would be leading their side of the effort. Trouble was, Oscar wasn't qualified to lead a project of this scale — he wasn't even qualified to lead a dog on a walk.

When no path seems safe,
take two steps: find more options
and then favor those options
that offer the most choicesKen was certain that Oscar would be a problem for the project, but if he objected to Oscar, he risked offending Margo by questioning her judgment, and he might even lose the account. If he kept quiet, and if Oscar bungled the assignment, he risked disaster, and Ken might later be dinged for withholding his reservations about Oscar.

To Ken, all options seemed risky. You've probably been there yourself now and then. When no path seems safe, what can you do? Two steps: find more options and then favor those options that offer the most choices. Generating more options is easier if you look at every option you have and ask, "How can I change this to avoid what I'm afraid might happen?"

Ken's options were either to accept Oscar and pray, or to express his reservations to Margo. To find more options, Ken faced what he most feared: that Oscar's participation could sink the project. He wanted to talk to Margo about this risk in a way that she could accept as a genuine expression of concern. So he decided to explain his reservations to Margo, and to ask her how soon she could replace Oscar.

This gave Margo a chance to replace Oscar on Ken's verbal request — Ken's preferred outcome. If she declined to replace him, he would say something like, "OK, I understand, and I hope you understand that I have to put my recommendations into writing. Look them over, and if you change your mind, let me know. Meanwhile, you have my word that I'll do my best to make this work." This step presents Margo with a problem of her own. If the project stumbles, and Ken's recommendation is in writing, Margo might have to answer either "Why didn't you replace Oscar?" or "Why did you replace Oscar?" If Margo quietly replaces Oscar very early, on Ken's verbal recommendation, these questions are less likely to arise. So above all, she doesn't want a written request from Ken. Ken had expanded his options by looking at the downside, modifying his approach to limit his risk and expand both his and Margo's choices.

Here's some homework. Perhaps the way your boss manages you creates real stress for you. You feel unappreciated, even abused. Your choices now are to continue to experience stress, or quit and look for a job. How can you expand your choices?  Top    Next Issue

Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Workplace Politics:

Devious Political Tactics: Cutouts

Cutouts are people or procedures that enable political operators to communicate in safety. Using cutouts, operators can manipulate their environments while limiting their personal risk. How can you detect cutouts? And what can you do about them?

Political Framing: Strategies

In organizational politics, one class of toxic tactics is framing — accusing a group or individual by offering interpretations of their actions to knowingly and falsely make them seem responsible for reprehensible or negligent acts. Here are some strategies framers use.

The Perils of Limited Agreement

When a group member agrees to a proposal, even with conditions, the group can move forward. Such agreement is constructive, but there are risks. What are those risks and what can we do about them?

Look Where You Aren't Looking

Being blindsided by an adverse event could indicate the event's sudden, unexpected development. It can also indicate a failure to anticipate what could have been reasonably anticipated. How can we improve our ability to prepare for adverse events?

Bad Trouble: Coping strategies

When Bad Trouble develops at work people make choices about coping. If they cope constructively, they have choices about how to do that. Even those who don't cope constructively have choices. Here's a survey of the wide range of choices people make.

See also Workplace Politics and Problem Solving and Creativity for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming April 24: Antipatterns for Time-Constrained Communication: 1

Knowing how to recognize just a few patterns that can lead to miscommunication can be helpful in reducing the incidence of problems. Here is Part 1 of a collection of communication antipatterns that arise in technical communication under time pressure. Available here and by RSS on April 24.

And on May 1: Antipatterns for Time-Constrained Communication: 2

Recognizing just a few patterns that can lead to miscommunication can reduce the incidence of problems. Here is Part 2 of a collection of antipatterns that arise in technical communication under time pressure, emphasizing those that depend on content. Available here and by RSS on May 1.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info