In many organisations, technical authors report to project managers who have never worked with documentation as a professional discipline. This creates unique challenges for technical authors managing managers who may lack an understanding of the documentation process.
These project managers usually come from backgrounds such as engineering, project management, product delivery, or operations. Documentation ends up in their remit almost by accident.
As a result, technical authors often find themselves in an unusual position. They must produce structured documentation while reporting to someone who may not fully understand what the work involves.
This creates an interesting professional challenge when working with managers as a technical author.
How do you manage your manager?
Experienced technical authors rarely confront the issue directly. Instead, they rely on quiet competence, structured thinking, and careful communication.
Over time, this approach usually reveals the value of the discipline.
The managers’ technical authors encounter
Technical authors encounter a few recurring types of managers. None of them is necessarily a bad person, but their backgrounds shape how they view documentation and the people who produce it.
The Accidental Documentation Manager
This is the most common type.
They typically come from:
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- Engineering
- Project management
- Product delivery
- Operations
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Documentation lands in their area of responsibility almost by accident.
Typical behaviours
They often:
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- believe documentation means writing things down
- underestimate information architecture and audience analysis
- Assume good writers can “pick it up”
- Describe processes that technical authors already use
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When they explain their approach to teams, they sometimes unknowingly outline activities such as
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- stakeholder interviews
- requirements discovery
- workflow analysis
- validation of information
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These are activities that experienced technical authors already perform.
What is really happening?
They are not dismissive on purpose. They have had no exposure to documentation as a professional discipline.
How experienced authors deal with them
Rather than challenging them directly, technical authors usually:
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- translate their work into risk reduction
- explain how documentation supports operational clarity
- demonstrate the thinking behind the documentation process
- avoid academic terminology
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Over time, this approach builds understanding.
The Credit Taker
This manager understands just enough to recognise that documentation has value, but not enough to practice it well.
Typical behaviours
They often:
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- present documentation ideas as management insights
- Repackage documentation processes as their own improvements
- explain methods that originated from the technical author’s work
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For example, a manager may present a new approach to teams that is actually standard practice among technical communicators.
When a technical author calmly replies:
“That’s the same approach I use when meeting new clients.”
The origin of the idea becomes clear.
What is happening?
These managers often want to appear strategic or authoritative.
How experienced authors deal with them
The best response is usually calm and factual.
Experienced authors typically:
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- remain neutral
- reference their work without confrontation
- allow the evidence to speak for itself
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Confrontation rarely improves the situation.
The Process Evangelist
Some managers believe strongly in management frameworks such as:
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- Agile
- Lean
- Six Sigma
- ITIL
- transformation programmes
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They sometimes assume these frameworks replace the need for documentation expertise.
Typical behaviours
They often:
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- talk constantly about the process
- Believing templates and tools solve documentation problems
- underestimates the analysis required before writing begins
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Ironically, technical authors are usually very strong process thinkers.
Understanding workflow, information flow, and validation cycles is central to the role.
Why do these situations occur so often?
Technical authors spend much of their time analysing how work actually happens inside organisations.
They:
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- interview stakeholders
- Identify process gaps
- document unclear responsibilities
- structure operational knowledge
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Because of this, technical authors often understand how organisations function more clearly than people realise.
This can occasionally expose gaps in management’s understanding.
When that happens, some managers may become defensive or minimise the role.
Most times, however, the issue is simple unfamiliarity with the discipline.
How Experienced Technical Authors Handle It
Rather than confronting the problem directly, experienced technical authors position their work carefully.
Translate the documentation into management language
Managers respond to outcomes such as:
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- risk reduction
- delivery efficiency
- operational clarity
- knowledge capture
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Instead of discussing:
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- information architecture
- content strategy
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It can be more effective to talk about:
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- reducing operational risk
- improving onboarding
- supporting project delivery
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Make the Thinking Visible
Managers often assume documentation is simply writing because they only see the finished document.
Occasionally, showing the method can change that perception.
For example:
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- stakeholder questions
- audience analysis
- workflow diagrams
- validation loops
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This reframes documentation as structured analysis rather than typing.
Let Quiet Competence Do the Work
Sometimes the best response is calm professionalism.
When a technical author says:
“That’s the same process I use when meeting new clients.”
They achieve several things at once:
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- validate the process
- demonstrate expertise
- correct the misconception without embarrassment
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This approach is often far more effective than arguing.
The Reality of Technical Authoring
Over time, many technical authors realise their role grows beyond writing.
They become:
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- documentation strategists
- information architects
- knowledge managers
- repository designers
- process analysts
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Often this happens quietly.
Which is why many experienced technical authors eventually discover something interesting:
They are not really managing their managers.
They are managing the documentation environment.
And the managers gradually adapt to it.
