RE: boss problem

[Rose -dot- Wilcox -at- pinnaclewest -dot- com]

<<
I'm having a s****y day, so I'll throw out a s****y idea...maybe it's her
management's goal to edge her out by descoping her responsibilities, and by
the poster's getting in the way, they'll simply get two for the price of
one.

I say do your job really well and let the big boys (and girls) do what they
do.>>

Although John may be having a bad day, I don't think this is a bad idea.  

Although I would love to be the one to name my boss's responsibilities (such as leaving me alone until I really need him, keeping other managers off my case, buying me new software and hardware and spiffy office supplies, approving all my time off requests and raises, and holding big parties for me everytime I make a deadline), it's actually outside of my job scope.

The only time I have a say if when a department does those "360" type of reviews, which are horrendous in that people who don't know what I do or who have different views than my direct boss might have a say in my review.  The fun thing is letting my direct boss know how he or she is doing by my lights (especially if I can do it anonymously.)

I tend to have the philosophical bent that my manager works for me, but I am aware that my arrogance is not a strong selling point in my favor.  <grin>

In the original posters case, I wouldn't give my manager any advice unless she asked for it.  My previous manager and I were very tight and would give each other pointers/insight in handling various political situations.  She also did what I like managers to do (see list above) to the best of her ability.

My current boss is more distant, focused on other agenda items than mine, and not interested in my personal analysis of any given situation (even though I've been at the company longer).  He only wants to know what the problem is and what I plan on doing about it.  By keeping him in the loop, but not mired in my daily detail, being solution-oriented, and delivering the best copy I can by deadline time, I have gained his respect.  (And he didn't like me at first as upper management forced him to accept me on his team.)

Honestly, at first I didn't want to be buried in QA (which my boss is the boss of) instead of reporting directly to my boss's boss like the BSAs and developers do, but now I am beginning to see some advantages.  For instance, my boss is a good advocate for standards and quality for the documents.  And I still have access to my boss's boss when I need to without stepping on my boss's toes, due to the informal nature of this environment.  

Basically sit at the table, pick up the cards you are dealt, and play them to the best of your ability.  Don't throw away any cards (allies) that might help you, if you can help it.  If the situation is ambiguous, wait and see what the next round brings before acting...

(Now that my card playing analogy is perilously close to breaking down, I'll bow out...)

Rose A. Wilcox
CHQ, 17th Floor
Tranz1 QA/Documentation
602-250-2435
Rose -dot- Wilcox -at- PinnacleWest -dot- com

And remember when you're out there
Tryin' to heal the sick
That you must always
First forgive them
-Bob Dylan




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Robohelp X3, from eHelp, lets you quickly and easily create
professional Help systems for all your Windows and Web-based
applications, including Net.

Order RoboHelp X3 in May and receive a $100 mail-in rebate, PLUS
free RoboScreenCapture and WebHelp Merge Module.

Order RoboHelp today: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.