Post #27,321
2/4/02 11:55:53 PM
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Officially moved
Today it was made "official", but my current manager said not to spread it around until it was officially publicized. We're undergoing a major reorganization.
I hired on in May under him, to be part of a team being built to do a redesign from the ground up. We'd build a base system to handle customer files that come in and route them to the correct programs to produce the correct output. Then we'd customize it for each new client (current ones stay with the old system until we could plan a migration). Two weeks into the job he calls me in and says "I have a guy who just gave his 2 week notice. He answers to me but works on the team of our biggest customer. Sit with him and pick his brain for the next two weeks." Needless to say, he started coming in no earlier than 10:30 AM every morning, left at 4, had 2 hour lunches, and so forth. I didn't get nearly enough out of him.
For the past 7 months I've been one of 3 people on the VB team supporting our biggest customer, putting up with their shit data that they leave to us to fix and clean up, streamlining programs so that it doesn't take 16 hours to process all of their daily files, learning a little about stored procedures and MS SQL Server 7 and getting assignments from the team lead, who is really a contractor that has been there 4 years. Now I'm being officially placed on this client team, reporting to...
a woman.
I know that her personality is not one that I get along with, though I doubt she's anything like the man-hater I suffered under at my first employer. However, the only time I ever see her is at a monthly meeting when she goes over my daily timesheets to see where any work could be billed to the client that I hadn't officially assigned to them myself. Other than that, no direct leadership, received a big hassle over taking the day after Thanksgiving off (my "official" manager said he'd notify her but forgot, after he approved my request. I also ran it past the team lead/contractor one month in advance and he saw no scheduling problems.) I never interviewed with her or was interviewed by any of the people on her team.
I'm very leery of where my career direction is now going. They hired a guy to do "project lead" work, but in reality he's the one who has to babysit the daily processes and gets called evenings and weekends when something goes wrong, so I'm glad I'm not in that position. I don't know what to expect from her, and it's going to make for a very tense annual review in a few months. Training on company time or premises is non-existent, but they will reimburse for approved classes at the local junior college. I'm going over there tomorrow to see if they have any Java or SQL Server type classes, so I can get better at the things I'm either doing now or would like to know.
I've just got a bad feeling about this.
BConnors
"Prepare for metamorphosis. Ready, Kafka?"
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Post #27,341
2/5/02 8:03:41 AM
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Be glad I am not your manager
This is a workplace, not a playground.
Get over worrying about girl germs, OK? Either you get along with her or not. Either she does the job or not. If she doesn't make gender an issue, then you shouldn't. If she does then it is her making it an issue that is the issue, and not her gender. If she doesn't but it bothers you, then you are the one with a problem.
Is that really so hard?
Ben
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Post #27,343
2/5/02 8:37:16 AM
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A little harsh, but I kind of agree
Given his history, I can understand why he's leery, and we don't know what this new one may be doing to trigger the comparison.
But, like you said, unless she explicitly makes an issue of it, then he shouldn't either or he'll be the one accused of ... something. Besides, from the sound of it there is plenty of reason to criticize her for the way she works without resorting to the hot-button issues.
We have to fight the terrorists as if there were no rules and preserve our open society as if there were no terrorists. -- [link|http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/05/opinion/BIO-FRIEDMAN.html|Thomas Friedman]
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Post #27,397
2/5/02 12:51:21 PM
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I think there's been more read into this
than what I meant. The last woman I worked for caused me major problems and was the reason I had to change my employer when I didn't want to go looking for a new job. I agree that her gender shouldn't be a problem, but I see where her management style and personality have the potential to become focal points. Maybe I shouldn't have pointed it out in the post. Mea culpa.
Remember that I never interviewed with her or any of her staff, but I was shuffled onto her team against my original manager's wishes. She hasn't been involved in giving assignments, she does not have a technical background, she does not have a solid understanding on how the databases are designed nor how the business logic works in the code. My original boss was one of the guys who designed and wrote the system that she manages now.
I guess that I am used to and prefer technically-oriented managers.
BConnors
"Prepare for metamorphosis. Ready, Kafka?"
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Post #27,435
2/5/02 6:29:03 PM
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The reason why I read stuff in
If her being a woman is not an issue, then just mention that she is a woman. Don't lead up to it, pause expectantly, devote a paragraph to that sentence, then proceed on.
Had you merely mentioned that you were managed by a woman, I wouldn't have responded. The fact that
you
went
to
so
much
trouble
just
to
make
it
clear
is what set off the red flags.
Cheers,
Ben
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Post #27,501
2/6/02 10:52:38 AM
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No quarrel with your explanation
You pointed out exactly how I led up to something that wasn't supposed to be the main point, but was, based upon how I typed it in. You handed me my head on a platter as I deserved. No offense taken - you are right that my posting style led you where it ended up.
BConnors
"Prepare for metamorphosis. Ready, Kafka?"
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Post #27,891
2/9/02 1:08:36 AM
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Most miscommunications are obvious..in retrospect
My apologies in turn for jumping so quickly.
The other issues that you have with her are classic significant issues. It sucks to have someone who doesn't understand the issues be making decisions without getting any input from people who do. In my experience (much corporate mythology notwithstanding) the best management does not micromanage...
Cheers,
Ben
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Post #27,691
2/7/02 3:53:20 PM
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I suddenly remember
the reason I avoid IWETHEY so much these days. :(
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #27,846
2/8/02 3:54:20 PM
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Wow...that was tame.
But the point was well made all the same
You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! Laurie Anderson
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #27,852
2/8/02 4:36:11 PM
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There was one?!? Can you clue me in on what it was, please?
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Post #27,374
2/5/02 11:15:30 AM
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Sounds like a great manager
Only see her at the monthly meetings and when she percieves a fsckup, when she reamed you about the time off did she tell you how to resolve the issue for future use? No? make sure she also is notified in advance of time off. My kinda girl.
thanx,
bill
"If you're half-evil, nothing soothes you more than to think the person you are opposed to is totally evil."
Norman Mailer
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Post #27,605
2/6/02 11:10:19 PM
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Not my manager then
I technically belong to the guy who hired me last May, and still do until this reorg is officially announced. Why should I have told someone who wasn't my manager I was taking a day off, let alone ask for permission, when I received it from my official manager in the beginning of November? He also stated that he would let her know through the weekly managerial staff meeting, when things like this are covered - but he forgot. You don't want to go around asking your boss if he remembered to do something - might make him feel like you're putting him on the spot. Finally, I ran the day off past the team lead/contractor guy in late October, because he was the guy giving me my assignments, and he saw no problem with the scheduling.
Now, things are getting worse. Received an assignment late Wednesday evening; meeting was scheduled at 4:30, but didn't start until 6 - her other meetings ran late. I had to stick around later than desired. It's due in production Friday morning. Involves an area of the system I hadn't been into yet, so I go to the team lead/contractor guy saying "Here are my thoughts on this, your opinion?" since he's the author of the program. He replies "This would require a major change in the program, at least 2 days of rewriting. Then, I'd need at least a week to thoroughly test it". I point out the due date (roughly 36 hours) and he says "There's a down and dirty way to go around it, but it involves another team making changes to their database and we'll need her approval on it. but we'd make the deadline easily". Go back to her office - she left for the night. So I send an email detailing our proposal and go home.
This morning she's in meetings, so I do another follow-up email. Ditto for after lunchtime. I send another email and begin to worry. At 2:30 I send another email; no response. I check with the main guy on the other team to see if it really is an easy database change and can he do it before Friday morning. He says, "It would take around 30 minutes, but I could do it for you if she approves it". (He's like me: officially reports to a boss but has been working on her team for the past few months). So after that I head over to her office to discover she's gone home for the day; doctor's appointment. Now I'm getting the feeling I'll be the taffy in the taffy pull on this one.
If she doesn't approve the other team's database changes first thing tomorrow morning, there's no way it will be in production by Friday. In this instance, her "hands off" could bite me.
BConnors
"Prepare for metamorphosis. Ready, Kafka?"
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Post #27,630
2/7/02 7:40:26 AM
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Don't depend on e-mail for critical communications.
My boss also often doesn't respond to e-mail in a timely manner. He is responsible for several projects, is out of the office for days at a time (trips, etc.), and gets a lot of e-mail.
Of course it depends on the person and the organization, but I think if you have to get a response from her/him, it's best to see her/him, or leave a message on her/his answering machine.
E-mail is often treated as something that can wait. If you have to get an answer to a question, it's often, in my experience, the least appropriate communications method.
Best of luck with your deadline!
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #27,665
2/7/02 1:19:49 PM
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Sounds like an organizational nightmare to me!
Alex
"Of course, you realize this means war." -B. Bunny
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Post #27,717
2/7/02 7:08:54 PM
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My motto track them down, outside the can is a good spot
"If you're half-evil, nothing soothes you more than to think the person you are opposed to is totally evil."
Norman Mailer
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Post #27,752
2/7/02 11:39:30 PM
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You're joking - I hope
I mean, gee whiz, hanging around the door to the woman's washroom? Waddaya trying to do, get me arrested?
BConnors
"Prepare for metamorphosis. Ready, Kafka?"
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Post #27,776
2/8/02 9:07:38 AM
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unobtrusively, not blocking the door!
"If you're half-evil, nothing soothes you more than to think the person you are opposed to is totally evil."
Norman Mailer
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