What did my manager mean by this?

[yhujhgfrtyujh]

At work I have moved departments into a new department with my previous manager and 7 other colleagues also new to the department but have never worked with my manager before.

My manager is pretty strict about following particular policies to the letter and as a result there are quite a few differences in the way I conduct myself and how my colleagues do. It's kind of awkward as I feel like a goody two shoes because I know my manager I am trying to help my colleagues avoid getting in trouble with her and also because if I see someone do something wrong I have to say something because of the nature of the job it could mean knock-on effects on the whole team and we all share responsibility and would be blamed for not speaking up.

A few days ago I had to go into my old department with one of my new colleagues to do something. He was about to do something incorrectly; it's one of those things where I know logically it's just a policy being overly pedantic and cautious and common sense would say the way my colleague was doing it was most likely going to be fine. However, my manager was about to walk in and I know she would comment negatively on it so I said to my colleague "I think we need to do it X way" and they responded "no, it's fine" I then said "[manager] is coming in and I know she will want us doing it the proper way". I was just giving a heads-up to this colleague. Another colleague (my old colleagues from my previous department) overheard and also said "yeah, you need to do it X way". My colleague completely ignored us both and carried on, finished the task and then left. My former colleague could tell I was frustrated at not being listened to.

This morning I found out, via my manager, that my former colleague spoke to her about it and said this colleague wasn't listening to me. It was all said vaguely with no details but I know that this is the incident they are referring to. However, my manager has interpreted it as me not asserting myself well enough. For context I am quiet and kind of reserved, but I was speaking up and clearly telling my colleague why we needed to do something a particular way. I think the issue is more that my colleague was ignoring me and it was not really an issue with not me asserting myself enough?

What do you think? Happy to be told what I should do differently next time.

I suppose the manager is thinking that you should have reported it to her and not your other colleague.

If you work in a sensitive area and witness someone doing something wrong, speak up and they ignore you, you then have to escalate it. Not just shrug and say 'oh well I tried and they didn't listen'.

Appreciate it's difficult though, you don't want to be a tell tale when trying to fit in with new colleagues. It's sounds very stressful!

How on earth can you be held responsible for someone else's actions if they choose not to listen to you?

I think I'd probably go back to management if appropriate and say something like "X was about to do Y incorrectly. I advised they reconsider but at the end of the day they are a grown adult - I cannot force them to do it the right way. My colleague seems to have told you this before I've even had a chance to consider whether it's something even worth raising with you or their line manager, so I apologise if you feel I have kept information from you. I didnt force the issue with X about Y as, like I say, I can advise but I cannot make them do something they dont want to do"

Just explain the way you have here, as succinctly as possible. For example
"I know your standards and that you expect us all to follow the policies & procedures very closely. However some our new colleagues are not used to that and prefer to do things their way. I have explained the correct way to do it and [previous colleague] did as well. However [new colleague] still chose to do it their way and couldn't be persuaded. It would be helpful if you set out your expectations to them directly and tell them to follow my advice, as I feel I have done all I can given I am just their team mate and don't have any authority over them"

Keep it simple and to the point. If manager says you are not assertive enough, politely disagree and put it back on them e.g.
"I don't think I was unassertive, I did speak up twice, but if you have some suggestions for handling [new colleague] differently if this happens again please do tell me and I will try that".

Assuming that you and the new colleagues are all at the same level and you're not their manager, I actually think you should push this back to your manager to deal with. If they are not following procedure it's down to the manager, not you, to sort out.

I know you've had the meeting already and it's always easier to come up with a snappy retort afterwards! But if it happens again, I would be asking the manager how they are going to tackle the issue (of not following procedures) going forward as it's making your job difficult. Push the management of people back to the one being paid for it.

@Gerwurtztraminer

This.

Do not let it go with your manager.

You spoke up clearly but you cannot force a colleague to be arsed to do it the way your manager wants it.

It's your manager's job.

But I certainly wouldn't be covering for them either.

If it's care work, you have a duty to report it if something isn't being done correctly. If you turn a blind eye, you are complicit. So I think it's a bit different if it's a field like that than say someone not putting the rubber bands back on the right shelf.