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Subject:Re: In the Trenches, A Bit of Venting From:"Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- editors-writers -dot- info> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 14 Nov 2002 02:27:46 -0500
>.... Generally, if you structure a department where
> responsaccountabilityccountablity permeate all functions, then if any single
> person begins to drop the ball, it becomes readily apparent to the rest of
the
> group and to management who the butthead is. In this sense, you don't have
to
> jump to conclusions. The slacker is readily apparent.
I agree with that, but if such a situation existed in the department that the
poster is working in, would he in fact be in his present predicament? It
sounded as if the other writer had *already* dropped the ball, that nobody but
the poster noticed or cared, and that there was no oversight of the writers by
anyone else. By the time someone posts to this mailing list with a problem, I
should think (judging my own experience only, of course) that other solutions
were not apparent and that the poster is nearing desperation. Perhaps I
generalize inappropriate from my own experience.
(Aside--> I did what you suggest in my last job, but it was a mistake. I
should have taken it to a higher level, because the problem person was not a
writer but the department manager, although that is probably a different
situation.)
<snip>
> Let the weak perish.
>
> > Especially when you're a contractor, your first line of defense, as it
were,
> > has to be the person to whom you report. It is inappropriate to hash
things
> > out with a peer.
>
> No, the first line of defense is to defend yourself. If necessary, talk to
your
> peers and establish a clear line of responsibility. Only once you have
worked out
> the details do you then report to management.
>
But what writer in a department has the authority to negotiate responsibility?
Maybe you're talking about very small departments that have one or two people
in them and function autonomously. That's the only situation in which I could
see where working it out locally is the best choice.
> Most managers - particularly me - HATE people who complain constantly. I
tell my
> employees on their first day: don't ever come to me with a problem, come to
me
> with a solution. I have enough problems to deal with on my own, I don't want
or
> need everybody else's.
>
But a manager's responsibility is to assure that everyone knows what's to be
done and how to do it. A documentation manager who shuts her door and lets the
writer's brawl over how to approach their tasks isn't much of a manager.
> Real professionals solve their own problems without constantly resorting to
> "telling mommy."
>
In my last job, I should have raised the issue with management, but I didn't
except obliquely.
> > Also, *someone* has to be the decision-maker there. Who is it? I don't
know
> > who it is, but everything hinges on that, it seems to me. There are
entirely
> > too many open questions, though, for me to give a more definitive answer.
But
> > fragmenting the documentation effort seems unprofessional.
>
> No it doesn't. Its a waste of resources, but that's the point of fragmenting
the
> work. When management (the decision makers) see Mr. MFA screwing off and
doing
> nonsense work, they'll can his ass and put a real writer in charge.
>
But the point is that they either don't see it or they don't care. At my last
position, they did not care.
> > The responsibility of a contractor who is having such problems is to his
> > agency and to the client. It is not appropriate to just hunker down and
ignore
> > what's going on around you.
>
> This isn't about "ignoring whats going on." Its about very frankly
acknowledging
> it and allowing it to run its course. If you have decided that your
co-worker is
> a loser, then cut him off and move along. You don't want to become
contaminated
> with his stink of failure.
>
I wonder now if I still might have a job if I had not done exactly what you
suggest.
I might have been among the survivors in the department. Next time, I will not
keep silent and wait for management to notice.
> Andrew Plato
>
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