Latest / The Difficult Boss Podcast with Fexingo: Managing Up, Toxic Managers, and Workplace Survival / How to Manage a Boss Who Hoards Information
Transcript
- Lucas: There is a particular kind of boss who doesn't yell, doesn't micromanage, doesn't steal credit. Instead, they just... don't tell you things. Luna: The information hoarder. I've had one. It's maddening. Lucas: Yeah. And it's actually more common than you'd think. A friend of mine worked at a mid-sized manufacturing firm — about five hundred employees, part of a Fortune 500 supply chain. Her boss was the plant manager. Every Monday morning she'd ask for the previous week's production yield numbers. And every Monday he'd say, 'I'll send that over.' He never did. Luna: So she just couldn't do her job? She was a production planner, right? Lucas: Exactly. She needed those numbers to schedule the next week's runs. Without them, she was flying blind. She'd ask in email — no reply. She'd stop by his office — he'd say he was busy. It took her six weeks to realize this wasn't forgetfulness. It was deliberate. Luna: Why would a manager do that? What's the upside? Lucas: Control. Information is currency. If you're the only one who knows the numbers, you're indispensable. In his case, the plant was underperforming on a key metric — scrap rate was twelve percent, well above the target of six. He didn't want that visibility. By keeping the data close, he controlled the story. Luna: So it's about hiding failure as much as hoarding power. Lucas: Right. And that's the psychology we're looking at today. The information-hoarding boss comes in a few flavors. There's the insecurity hoarder — they're afraid that if you know what they know, you'll outshine them. There's the control hoarder — they want to be the gatekeeper for every decision. And there's the cover-up hoarder — they're hiding something. Luna: Which one is hardest to deal with? Lucas: The cover-up hoarder, because the stakes are higher. With the insecurity type, you can usually build trust over time. With the control type, you can work around them. But if they're hiding bad performance or a compliance issue, you're dealing with a potential landmine. Luna: So what do you do? You can't exactly demand information from a boss who's actively withholding it. Lucas: You can't demand, no. That triggers a power struggle and you'll lose. But you can change the frame. The most effective tactic I've seen is what I call the 'curiosity frame.' Instead of saying, 'I need the production numbers,' you say, 'I'm trying to understand how our scrap rate compares to last quarter — can you help me see the trend?' Luna: That's subtle. You're asking for help, not demanding data. Lucas: Exactly. You position yourself as a curious learner, not a threat. The boss's ego gets a small stroke — they're the expert you're consulting. And it's harder for them to say no to a request for 'understanding' than a request for 'data.' My friend tried this. She said, 'I noticed the yield seems lower this month — am I reading that right?' He actually pulled up the spreadsheet. Luna: Wow. So it worked? Lucas: It got her a foot in the door. But it wasn't a permanent fix. The next week he was back to withholding. So she added a second tactic: building alternative information channels. Luna: Meaning she went around him? Lucas: Not exactly around him, but sideways. She started building relationships with the shift supervisors and the quality assurance lead. They had access to the same data. She'd ask them casually, 'Hey, how did the line run last night?' Over coffee, not in a formal meeting. Within two weeks she had enough informal intel to do her job. Luna: That's smart. But doesn't that risk making the boss feel undermined? Lucas: It can, if you're obvious about it. The key is to make those relationships about the work, not about bypassing authority. She wasn't saying, 'My boss won't give me the numbers, can you?' She was just being a good colleague who wanted to understand the floor reality. That's normal workplace behavior. Luna: And the boss can't really complain about you talking to other people about the work. Lucas: Right. There's a third tactic, too, and this one is more advanced: create a shared artifact. If you can get your boss to commit to a recurring report — even a simple weekly email — that creates a pattern. The first time, you draft it and ask them to review it. After a few weeks, it becomes routine. They almost feel obligated to keep sending it. Luna: Like you're building a habit for them. Lucas: Exactly. My friend tried this. She said, 'Would it help if I prepared a weekly production summary for the team? I can draft it and you can approve it.' He agreed. She sent the first draft with blanks where the numbers should go. He filled them in. After three weeks, she was getting the data without asking. Luna: So you're essentially doing the work for them, but you get what you need. Lucas: It's a tradeoff. You invest a little extra time upfront to create a system. But for a lot of information-hoarding bosses, the issue isn't malice — it's that they're overwhelmed or disorganized. They're not deliberately hiding; they're just bad at sharing. A shared artifact solves that. Luna: How do you tell the difference between a malicious hoarder and a disorganized one? Lucas: Watch for consistency. A disorganized boss will sometimes share, sometimes not. They'll apologize. They'll say, 'Oh, I forgot, sorry.' A malicious hoarder never forgets — they just never share. And they deflect. They blame IT, or say the data isn't ready, or change the subject. Luna: And if it's malicious, the curiosity frame and shared artifact still work? Lucas: They work less well. With a malicious hoarder, you're dealing with a power play. In those cases, the best move is often to make your work visible without their data. Document the impact: 'Without the production numbers, I cannot schedule the next run. This will delay the client order by three days.' Put it in writing. Send it to them with a CC to someone higher — subtly. Luna: That's risky. You're essentially escalating. Lucas: It is risky. But if the hoarding is actively harming your performance, you have to decide: do you want to take the hit for their behavior, or do you want to make the problem visible? I'm not saying go nuclear on day one. But after you've tried the softer moves and nothing changes, you need to protect yourself. Luna: Speaking of protecting yourself — I want to circle back to something you said earlier about building cross-functional relationships. That seems like the most sustainable long-term move. Lucas: It is. Because even if your boss changes, the network stays. And in a lot of organizations, the real power isn't in the org chart — it's in the informal information flow. The person who knows what's actually happening on the factory floor or in the next department often has more influence than the person with the title. Luna: Yeah. I think that's the core lesson here: don't let one person be your only pipeline. Lucas: Exactly. Diversify your information sources the way you'd diversify an investment portfolio. No single point of failure. Luna: And on that note — since we're talking about sustainability — I want to mention something real quick. This show exists because of listeners like you who support it directly. We don't run ads, we don't have sponsors, and that means we can talk about exactly what we think without any corporate filter. Lucas: Yeah, and it's a small group of people who make that possible. A handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that literally funds us making this many episodes. If this show has helped you think through a career move or a tough workplace situation, that's the thing that keeps it going. Luna: No pressure, no pitch. Just a sincere thanks to everyone who already does. And now back to the topic — because we've got one more move I want to cover. Lucas: Right. The last tactic is what I call the 'information audit.' Sit down once a quarter and list every piece of information you need to do your job well. Then mark which ones you have easy access to, which ones require effort, and which ones are blocked. Luna: And then what? Send it to your boss? Lucas: Not necessarily. You use it as a personal tool first. But if you identify a pattern — three quarters in a row you can't get the budget forecast — that becomes evidence. You can say, 'I've noticed I've been unable to access the budget forecast for the past nine months. Is there a reason for that?' The data makes it a factual conversation, not a personal complaint. Luna: That's a good way to depoliticize it. Lucas: Exactly. And sometimes the boss doesn't even realize they're hoarding. They think they're being efficient by not overwhelming you with data. The audit makes it explicit: 'Here's what I need, here's what I have, here's the gap.' It's hard to argue with. Luna: So to sum up: curiosity frame, cross-functional relationships, shared artifacts, and the information audit. Lucas: And always document. That's not a tactic, it's a baseline. If you ever need to escalate, you want a paper trail, not a memory. Luna: Alright. I think that's a solid toolkit. Next episode we're talking about the boss who sets you up to fail — the 'impossible deadline' boss. That one's fun. Lucas: Can't wait. For now, if you're dealing with an information hoarder, try the curiosity frame tomorrow. See what happens.