I Thought I Was Helping... Turns Out Everyone Hated It

A few months ago, I noticed our team was constantly scrambling to meet deadlines because no one was tracking project statuses. So, being the good employee I am, I spent a weekend building a super clean, color-coded spreadsheet that showed where every project stood:

Who owned what.
What was overdue.
All laid out beautifully. Chef’s kiss.

Monday morning, I proudly shared it with the team, thinking they’d be relieved

Instead?
Pure rage.

People were mad that it “made them look bad” because it showed who was behind on their work. A couple people accused me of “micromanaging” even though… I don’t manage anyone?? My boss told me it was “a little aggressive” to make performance that visible without permission.

Playing devils advocate here. I see both sides. You were being helpful, you were also exposing your coworkers, both are valid.

I don’t think I would like if all of a sudden it was displayed that I was behind on my work, that’s my issue, but still wouldn’t like it.

I agree, I see both sides. It’s a noble intention you had, but if I were shown how far behind I am for all to see, I wouldn’t have appreciated it.

I would guess it probably depends on how interconnected your team’s project work is. If it’s like a group project in college and no one succeeds unless everyone delivers, I think that your spreadsheet should have been received as a helpful tool. If you work more independently of one another, I can see how people would find it snarky, especially if you’re killin it and others are dragging boots.

You know your true intention, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Your boss labeling as “aggressive” is weird to me.

I did something like this at my job and not everyone was a fan. Years later and they use it all the time lol let them be mad. People wanna complain then get mad when someone does something about it, they’ll get over it in time.

I see this too, my boyfriend created training and his boss said he was overstepping, but now they’re using it