Rubber stamp manager

The first time I heard the term 'rubber stamp management/manager' it was directed at me, pointing out a presumption I made which someone wasn't too happy about. Needless to say, it was a valuable lesson but I found humor in the term itself to never forget the incident..

You see, the most effective to way to build a positive, credible reputation at the workplace for ourselves is to consciously make a point to add value to the task we are required to deliver.

Ask ourselves. When something is in hand, are we adding value to it before the final output is delivered? or before it is passed on to the next person? or division? or (and especially..) the boss?!

If we feel our role in something is only a messenger, believe me that should be enough to be insecure about. It's too easy to become irrelevant and redundant from such a role.

I have seen others take it to the extreme. There are those who just declare it and walk out of meetings where they feel they can add no value. Asians are too polite to do this but I believe it is needed sometimes. Time is precious.

So, what is a rubber stamp manager/management and what has this got to do with it? Well, at any level and even more so when you're a boss, you must ensure you are adding value. 

Bosses are not there just to sign a.k.a 'rubber stamp' documents for approval (Most Malay TV drama series to this day portray bosses as doing just that! That is so 80s…). Nor as employees, we should expect our boss to not question us and that they should just approve our papers the moment we send it to them. 

And that was the lesson I learnt that day..many moons ago, when I was a young and eager executive (younger and more eager now :P). Having brought up a paper I presumed is a no-brainer at the last minute, only to find the boss had a view on it and needed time which I did not hide my frustration about. "We are not rubber stamp management" is what he said to me. Thank you DBO. I carry this with me to this day….

Picture courtesy of Google Images