Please send your questions, comments and critiques to me at pglen@c2-consulting.com.

One of the biggest frustrations I've had with many managers is that they always want me to explain things in overly simplistic terms. Often they are asking about highly technical, complex issues that can't be easily turned into a sound bite, yet they insist on artificial simplicity. Why do they do this, and how can I deal with them?

This represents one of the most common frustrations for -- and misunderstandings between -- technical people and their managers.

It's also a source of the degradation of respect between managers and their staffs. Managers are frustrated because they believe their people are unable or unwilling to share information about the details of their work. If a manager believes a staff member is unwilling to share information, then a deep mistrust of the staffer's motives develops. The manager assumes that person is trying to gain power through knowledge isolation.

On the other hand, if a manager believes that someone is unable to communicate effectively about the details of his work, he assumes that this person will be limited in his career development.