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Subject:Re: In the Trenches, A Bit of Venting From:"Gary S. Callison" <huey -at- interaccess -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 14 Nov 2002 12:03:14 -0600 (CST)
On Thu, 14 Nov 2002, bgranat -at- editors-writers -dot- info ("Bonnie Granat") wrote:
> Andrew Plato wrote, in response to a request for advice on a slacker
> co-worker:
> | Factor Mr. MFA out of the equation. Chunk off work for him to do and
> | then go off and do your own work. Remove all dependencies between you
> | and him. On deadline day, you hand the boss/reviewers your completed
> | work and then let Mr. MFA look like a moron.
> | I worked with a guy like this before. They are their own worst enemy.
> | Just make sure you don't become associated with his failures.
> This is very bad advice.
er, in my opinion, some of this is very bad advice. Some of it is just fine.
> If there is not a policy or a mechanism in place to deal with the issue
> of how you two are to proceed, talk to your immediate supervisor and
> develop one *now*. Don't factor anyone out of any equation. That's
> typical bullying behavior. Speak to the person who has the authority to
> decide how the documentation should be done.
If the original storyteller's life is anything like mine, the guidance has
already been given, in the form of "We need some documentation. You're the
professionals, YOU figure it out." So I have the mission statement, but
very little in the way of guidance for the actual execution of the
problem. And there's people I have to work with, some of which have
varying, daily-changing, or ill-defined scopes of responsibility.
Now, suppose that there's a person here who has "Does Not Play Well With
Others" on their report card? I have no control over what this person
does. I can ask, beg, cajole, recommend, teach, plead, bribe, and hold my
breath until I turn blue, and they're going to do whatever the hell they
were going to do anyways. I've tried to get along- but the only control I
have is how I react to this situation.
Part of the solution, as Andrew says, is to remove this person's negative
influence on my performance. Information I need? Get it from somewhere
else. Collaboration help I need? Get it from somewhere else. If I can't
get it from anywhere else, CC the request to managment very clearly
worded "I am stuck on this project until you give me X".
But that brings me to where Andrew's advice goes south: it's not deadline
day you spring this on your boss- because at that point, the project is
on the line. No, the instant I realize that my working relationship
with this person is going to impact the quality of my work, I go to the
boss and play the whole hand face up. And most of the time that I've gone
to management with "I am having real problems dealing with X on this
project", the answer is something like "You didn't hear this from me, but
you don't know the half of it. X is driving EVERYBODY NUTS. Is there
something I can help you with instead?" The boss appreciates my candor,
and helps me find other ways to get the product out the door on time.
> You are two writers who have divergent views on how the company's
> documents are to be created? You need someone to take charge. If you
> feel you don't want to do that because it would be counterproductive,
> enlist the assistance of a manager. Surely *someone* there is
> responsible for documentation besides this staff writer. As a
> contractor, to whom do you report? So many questions occur to me,
What I did was to crank out a manual for a software product, and ask
"How's this?". Management's decision appears to be that from now on,
manuals will look like 'this'.
> but I just had to write to urge you not to try to make the other writer
> look like a moron.
> It's not only immoral, but it's downright nasty and unprofessional.
There's the issue of your own career, and then there's the success of
your project, and the success of your employer. In a perfect world, these
three things will be pointing in the same direction. I hate office
politics with a passion, but sometimes I think you have to stand back
and let people hang themselves. It may be immoral, but I can't control
anybody else's actions. I can only attempt to provide a sense of purpose,
motivation, and direction to get them to do the right thing.
> Real writers don't do that.
I suspect that 'real writers' are every bit as capable of being petty
mean-spirited backstabbing weasels as any other class of people, actually.
<lurk>
--
Huey
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