Is Your Boss a Swoop-and-Pooper? Here’s How to Fix It.
Does your boss fly in, dive deep into an area outside their expertise, challenge your direction, push ill-formed ideas, then disappear—only to repeat the cycle later? Do they constantly ask for updates or bombard you with new ideas when you’re already swamped?
Yeah, we’ve all had these bosses. `It’s frustrating and exhausting. So, how do you deal with it? Pack your bags and pull the ripcord? Maybe—if the entire job (culture, environment, team, the problem you're solving) is toxic. But if the job is otherwise good, quitting over a meddlesome boss may not be the best move.
The Hard Truth: It’s Probably You, Not Them
Two things are likely true:
Your boss is invested in the outcome of your work. It’s tied to their strategy and, ultimately, their success.
Your boss answers to someone—their own boss, the board, shareholders, or other stakeholders.
This means they need to be confident in your ability to deliver on key outcomes and that they can adequately represent the value to their stakeholders. If they’re constantly buzzing in your ear, it signals a lack of confidence in your execution.
Put simply: your boss doesn’t trust you—at least not entirely. That doesn’t mean you’re unqualified, but it does mean there’s a gap in trust, understanding, or communication.
So what do you do?
How to Stop the Swoop-and-Poop
Your goal is to proactively close the trust gap. Here’s how:
1. Identify What’s Missing
What aspect is unclear to your boss? Is it the vision (how your work aligns with company goals)? The execution (confidence that work is progressing well)? The strategy (whether the plan is sound)? Understanding this will help you communicate effectively.
2. Provide a High-Level Plan
If your boss struggles with the big picture, create a high-level plan with clear milestones. Walk them through it and establish a shared understanding. Then, keep it updated as you make progress. This ensures they know where you’re going, how you’re going to get there, and reassures them that you’re on track.
3. Offer Proactive Updates
If they’re micromanaging the execution, it’s because they feel out of the loop. Solve this by regularly sharing structured updates. If your boss is asking for updates, you’re already behind.
Maintain a running document with weekly or biweekly summaries.
Include bullet points, key decisions, blockers, and progress highlights.
Provide links to artifacts (docs, mockups, dashboards) to minimize back-and-forth.
4. Manage Expectations
Set clear expectations for when and how you’ll communicate. If they know they’ll get a detailed update every Friday, they’ll be less likely to swoop in mid-week with random check-ins.
5. Engage Them on Their Terms
Some bosses are high-level thinkers, others love details. Pay attention to how they process information and tailor your updates accordingly. Do they prefer concise summaries? Visual dashboards? Data-heavy reports? Give them what they need in the way they prefer.
6. Make Them Look Good
Remember, your boss has their own pressures. The better you equip them to report up confidently, the less they’ll meddle. Give them the talking points they need to communicate your progress effectively.
The Payoff: Trust and Autonomy
Once your boss sees that you’re proactively managing your work, keeping them informed, and delivering results, they’ll begin to trust you more. Over time, their need to swoop in will decrease, and you’ll gain more autonomy.
If you’ve tried all this and they’re still interfering? Well, then it may be time to consider other options. But in most cases, better communication and proactive transparency can turn a swoop-and-pooper into a supportive, hands-off leader.