Re: New Employee Problems w/ Management

[Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM>]

To the anonymous techwriter who wrote:
> In my short time here, he has
> already told me that he sees himself as the true "Tech Writer" and the rest of
> us as merely his assistants. He also has a personal mission to "break" the
> "writer's pride" (his phrase) in the rest of us.
>
> I have read the guideline document he drafted. His style to turn everything into
> acronyms, drop all articles wherever possible and use lots of passive voice and
> pronouns with unclear antecedents...<snip>
> The other writers are not comfortable with him. ...<snip>

This is definitely a difficult situation, but you shouldn't have to quit your job.
What you have to resolve to do is behave completely
professionally in all matters pertaining to this. *Document everything!* Make yourself
a project log (handwritten in a notebook, if you're worried about this person reading your
computer files, or password protect a wp file if you're worried about him taking it
out of your cubicle, whatever you feel comfortable with.)

If he keeps you talking too long on irrelevant matters, note that in your project log.
If he gives you instructions you don't agree with, keep a record of them. Better yet,
write them down as in, "Just confirming our discussion this morning to be sure I'm
clear on what you wanted. You said you wanted to me to ..."
If he changes the requirements on you, make a note.
Don't make the log keeping a high profile activity, though.

Also, you may have to be a little more assertive than you have needed to be in the past. If you
don't agree, state your objections calmly and with supporting reasoning. If you are overruled,
you can at least note what you said and what the response was in your log.

Don't get into grumble sessions with other employees who are suffering from this manager too.
It sounds like at some point, all of this will come to a head. (Just make sure it's not YOUR head!)
Either the manager will be moved or you will find it impossible to continue in that environment.
Plan for the likelihood that this might happen, and be prepared for anything. This can be a
good learning opportunity, even though you will probably suffer during the process. We've all
had to endure something like this at one point or another. How it turns out for you depends
upon your professionalism. It may happen that there are things this manager provides to the
organization that are more valuable than the contributions of those who are complaining about
him.

Whatever the result, as long as you do your job to the best of your ability, you will feel good
about yourself afterwards, and that's all that matters. You won't have to feel guilty about a
bad publication if you've done everything you can to ensure its quality, despite a tough
situation.

Good luck!
--Beth

Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
65 Allstate Parkway, Suite 100  Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 9X1        Fax: (905) 513-1419
mailto:bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com    Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com

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