My chaotic boss is driving me crazy!

I am extremely organized and always carefully plan my work.  I know exactly which tasks I must complete every day in order to meet my deadlines.  The problem is that my boss constantly comes up with ad hoc requests and expects me to immediately drop whatever I’m doing to focus on his latest whim.

Instead of rewarding this impulsive behavior, I usually put his requests aside until I can work them into my schedule.  Because he doesn’t like this, he has given me a bad performance review.  How am I supposed to work with such a disorganized manager?

Marie’s Answer

As long as you remain in this job, I’m afraid you may need to loosen up a bit.  Telling your boss that you’ll get around to his requests when your schedule allows is simply not politically smart.  Although you clearly believe you are right and he is wrong, the fact is that the two of you just have different work styles.

This particular personality difference is actually quite common.  Highly structured people like to create detailed plans well in advance, while more spontaneous folks come up with new ideas at the eleventh hour.  When working together, these two types routinely drive each other absolutely nuts.

However, the most relevant factor here is that your manager is the one doing your performance review, not the other way around.  If he continues to view you as obstructive, you are quite likely to receive another low rating in the future.  So, here’s a possible solution – given your talent for planning, simply set aside some time in your schedule for responding to these predictable last-minute requests.

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