You spent most of the week on the proposal. You sent it to your manager on Thursday, and on Friday the version that went to the directors was almost unrecognisable. New opening, a different order, half your paragraphs gone and two new ones you had not written. It is the third time this has happened. Your name is still at the top, and you are no longer sure why.
It is easy to feel that your writing is simply not good enough, or that your manager does not trust you. Either might be partly true. More often, though, a manager who rewrites everything is reacting to what they know about the audience, under time pressure, and doing it the fastest way they know. Rewriting is quicker than explaining, especially on a Friday.
The useful thing is that every rewrite is detailed feedback, even if nobody has said a word. So start by reading it that way. Put your draft and the final version side by side and look for patterns rather than individual changes. Did they move the recommendation to the top? Cut the background? Replace technical terms with business ones? Add numbers where you had descriptions? Three documents in, you can usually see the same few changes again and again.
Then ask about the patterns, not about the hurt. Choose a calm moment, not the hour after the latest one went out. Something like, I noticed you usually move the recommendation to the start and cut the history. Can you tell me what the directors look for? I would like to get closer to what you need on the first draft. Most managers will happily explain, because they would rather not be rewriting either.
Ask for a different kind of help next time. Could you leave comments on my next draft instead of editing it, so I can make the changes myself? It costs them a little more time once, and saves them a lot after that. It also means you learn the reasoning, not just the result.
Before you send the next one, try writing it in the shape you now expect. Recommendation first, the decision you need, then only as much background as a busy reader requires. Send it a day earlier than before, so there is time for comments rather than a rewrite.
And keep an eye on how much changes each time. If the edits shrink from most of the document to a few lines, you are getting somewhere, and it is worth saying so. If they never shrink however you adapt, that is worth a separate conversation about ownership. A document with your name on it should mostly contain your words.
– Asael Shinder
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