Looking for perspective on a client situation.

A client asked me a question in an email thread about an attendance process. I asked my manager how I should handle it, and he said he wasn’t sure and that I could decide. Since the email was addressed to me, I responded essentially telling the client to go with the most accurate route. Later, my manager was upset that I had replied, saying I shouldn't recommend anything on the client's internal processrs.

(Continued in comments)

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To me I felt that my manager was shifting the blame onto me, when I clearly asked him for support before responding and he gave me discretion.

Curious how others feel about this?

To give more context client essentially said "should we use this system or this system to track naming moving forward" given we had an issue using one system before. I then asked my manager "hey what should I say" he said "I'm not sure I'll let you decide" then I said "if x system is more accurate then let's use that" and my manager sends me an angry email saying that I overstepped boundaries.

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Clients love to take a consultant’s note or response and blame all their problems on them. They can take your email and present it as an endorsement by EY. I would never respond to a question over email , specially when they are seeking a recommendation. So that is a legitimate feedback .

With that said, this seems like a communication gap with your manager. That’s why it’s good to review a response with whoever manages communications /relationship, before sending it. Even if you were given the task to formulate a response.

Most consultants make this error, specially early in the career. So it’s a good learning experience. And of course , based on how you described it, your manager seems to be lacking communication skills

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Everything C1 said is correct. I hope C1 is on my team…my life would be so much better.

I would have researched the options and provided the pros and cons for both. I would also make a recommendation based on the information they had provided me in the past. I also make it clear that these are recommendations, and ultimately, it is their decision because it is their organization. They have to live with it when I'm gone.

Clients pay consultants for recommendations and sometimes to be scapegoats.

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Your manager didn’t manage well. But next time come up with a pov and double check with them it makes sense. Maybe mgr was expecting you to run this buy them but that’s simple water under the bridge miscommunication. Ask them what could have gone differently and just say okay.

Next step, in your next 1-1 with your manager let them know that you understand there was a communication gap and your plan for the future is to run the communication through them next time before sending to the client. Stale air is a breeding ground for issues to form. Make sure you close the loop on this one.

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