RE: difficulties with the boss

["Neumann, Eileen" <ENeuman -at- franklintempleton -dot- ca>]

I think you have two problems here (at least :) )

One is the unprofessional and hurtful conduct of your manager. For that, I think I'd go first to HR, in my (largish) organization, as a previous poster has said.

The second is that possibly your manager doesn't have much knowledge, experience or background in technical writing. I've had this problem a lot. If a manager has no real idea of a regular workflow for publications, or doesn't really know what needs to be accomplished in the editing process, a communications disconnect can occur. I've had the experience where every suggestion I've made, such as having a style guide, is a whole new concept to my manager. Knowledge of technical writing concepts can come across as being insubordinate, mouthy, etc. in this situation. While to me, my suggestions are just basic procedures that everyone in a professional writing department would do.

I don't know the solution to this, except try to educate very slowly and diplomatically. 

I guess in your situation, you need to consider what you'd like the outcome to be, and then try to take calm action in that direction. Not easy.

Good luck,
Eileen Neumann
Toronto

-----Original Message-----
From: Anonymous Poster [mailto:techwhirlanonpost -at- yahoo -dot- com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 12:13 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Fwd: difficulties with the boss


I am having an incredibly difficult time working with
my new boss. I have been in this position since
September, and hoped the tension would ease up, but
it's only gotten worse. The following is a list of
things I considered sending to her boss last week, but
then thought better of it:

I am extremely frustrated with our lack of process in
writing and editing. The following situations have
contributed to this state:

1) Being assured that something "looks good" and that
"we can go with these changes" and then having edits
returned on sections that had no edits previously.

2) Sections that were not marked as needing revision
in round one, two, or three suddenly appear with
edits in round four. If nothing was wrong with the
section earlier and none of the text in the section
has changed, and its meaning is still valid, why does
it suddenly need revision?

3) When I make the exact edits required, I receive
edits to those. If the original edits are not correct,
why was I told to make them? I am being penalized for
following directions.

4) Minutae editing. Corrections suggested by SMEs over
the use of words which are a matter of opinion. In
areas like these, shouldn't the person who has the job
of writing be the expert?

5) Not accepting my feedback and then, later, telling
me to make the very same corrections that I suggested.

6) "My way or the highway". I have to presume that I
was hired to bring my experience to bear. Yet when it
comes down to actually using that experience, the only
way allowed is my manager's. And on the rare occasion
that I can make a small improvement (like replacing
paragraphs of text with a single table), it's because
I yelled and yelled until I got it.

7) The only way to discuss matters with my manager is
through high-intensity screaming matches. I find these
embarassing, morale-draining, exhausting, and wholly
unprofessional.

8) Personal attacks and insults. More than once I have
been personally insulted, through phrases such as the
following: "What do you mean you don't understand it?
I'm talking to you in plain English."

All of this adds up to an uncertain, hostile work
environment. It is the perpetuated existence of such
that drives people to leave companies.

------------

I kid you not, she doesn't even know her parts of
speech. She won't approve a style guide. This morning,
she told me that the entire new section I'm working on
is wrong. This is the fifth time through the editing
process and she keeps finding things wrong that
weren't wrong before. And, in one of the most
humiliating moments of my tech-writing career, she
tells me to take the entire section out and SHE'LL
WRITE IT.

One thing I've learned about her (from observation and
from a couple of her former reports) is that her
confidence is very low. I think that's why she's
lashing out at me, but I don't know how to handle
this.

What would you do in this situation?

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