And the sooner you learn that, and accept the fact they will throw you under the bus, the better your career will be.
They are not your friends.
They are not your mentors.
They are your enemies that need to be quarantined as quickly as possible and people you must be promoted over in order to succeed. They are the bottleneck and blockage to your advancement in your career.
Again, cheap nursing homes for all.
15 comments:
I really enjoy your blog, but with this one, I have to say 'screw you, hippy.'
My service to my employees is the most important part of my job as a Director. They are smarter than me, harder working than me, and nothing will happen, much less succeed, if they don't have everything they need, no barriers, and major decisions about their projects pushed down to them. I don't always succeed in all of those, but I bitch up a storm when someone screws with my crew.
The kicker? My current boss used to work for me, and passed me like I was standing still. And I am proud to work for him.
There is strife all around, yes. I walked away from a salaried job with benefits in 2006. The people I worked with said things like, "It must be incredible to know that you are going to walk away from this place in 2 weeks and never have to worry about it again."
Indeed it was. But I was single with well above average assets and very little debt. I wasn't jumping into the proverbial fire. What a terrible mess. So many people just can't do that, and they are going to see their real wages go down, and see their hours and taxes increase. A quarter of them already take prescription pills just to hang on. I have always been very open about my plans to live cheap and avoid slavery. So far so good (consulting as an engineer). Each place I go to work for a few months I see the same sorrow and hear the same cliches about stress, debt, etc.
It is crazy to dive head first into the popular way of doing things - max auto loan and mortgage you can get, etc. If you are over 35, 40 at most and you need your job (within a couple of months of trouble without it), you have to make some adjustments. I know it isn't easy with the wife and kids.
BTW, I get "You were smart enough not to get married" all the time.
I'm 43, and I don't ever remember an adult saying something like that when I was a kid/teenager.
It ain't like it used to be.
As a new young professional I am deeply enmeshed in corporate culture (HAIL DIVERSITY). My boss is someone whose influence I need to get the promotion to a new position that I need experience in to get into a program to train me to advance to a position that will earn me $130k a year.
What was that credentialism thing you talke about called again?
Hey, thanks for the linkage!
This is nothing new. It's called "kiss up & kick down". This style of 'management' is rampant especially among younger managers.
There is only one way to deal with them too - head on. Any supervisor that throws you under the bus once - will do it again. Don't work for them.
When stuff like that happens, you confront them with it on the spot; if they give you any bullshit, put your beefs in writing and go over his head. If the upper management is on his side, put in your two weeks notice and do it right on the spot. Let them know why and be professional.
Training is a HUGE cost. Although some companies can and do thrive with a revolving door for employees - NONE will sanction the loss of real talent.
Don't feel bad about quitting either - sure, you are expendable. So is your employer. Spotty resumes are the norm now - and people that have been at the same job for decades are often percieved as inflexible.
Take pride in your work AND yourself.
Unless you can find a boss who is both a mentor AND a friend. Which is really the only kind worth having.
This is how you get good at something without being screwed: find someone who excels at the field you're interested in, and ask them to intern.
I say bring back the guilds.
Anon 709
You do understand you are one of millions?
Anon 709
You do understand you are one of millions?
I've had numerous bosses - I've had two really good ones (including my current one).
One psychopath that did everything in her power to get me fired including falsely claim that I stole stuff, because by cutting me and another guy, she'd improve her chances for promotion.
I had one asshole like the described boss who was technically incompetent and a good old boy who played favorites. Every time he needed help, I'd do expert work to bail his sorry ass out of trouble, but would never recognize it, reward it or be promoted because of it. He and his boss also told me to lie to a customer - which of course would have gotten me rightfully fired.
Oddly enough, the next manager promoted me immediately saying my not being promoted earlier was a grave injustice. A very good manager.
After him, I had one that pushed the career of a black female who literally did nothing except take credit for other people's work. I lost a patent because she submitted an idea that I had thought of and had implemented. But, my boss blocked me from viewing the application. This one also falsely concocted a failure he attributed to me and was ready to jump on me in front of my coworkers at the next department meeting. But it ended quite badly for him, because the whole department lost trust in him as a manager and his survey rating dropped like a rock into unacceptable territory.
As for my current manager, she is wonderful, however I don't know how long she's going to stay in this cesspool of executive arrogance and incompetence that is pervasive in the company. Right now, if she leaves I won't be far behind. Neither of us deser ve or need this house of horrors in which we now work.
"I say bring back the guilds."
----------------------------------
I say bring back the Free Market.
You paint with a borad brush here.
There are many bosses who genuinely care for their employees.
There are many dedicated employees,....and many more who would screw their boss and company at the drop of a hat.
Do not confuse hate with indifference.
If that's so then your father hates you and is your enemy. I've learned that lesson the hard way.
I have no interest in climbing the ladder. I see what it does to good people. You have to become an ahole. I'm just not qualified for it. I also don't want the responsibility. Dealing with higher up managers, dealing with insubordinate subordinates, people with attitudes, chips on their shoulders, people with vendettas, or people with agendas that are contrary to mine. There are people who make good managers, by getting out of their people's way and being facilitators. Help us do our job so we make them look good rather than being a roadblock and blaming us for their failures.
My current manager said in our first one on one that he hates one on ones and that if I had any issues or concerns or anything to just talk to him. His desk is right next to mine not in some executive corner office. He doesn't just micro manage all day. He writes code just like the rest of us. The only difference is he passes my status reports and time sheets up the chain.
Not all managers are jerks or try to screw you over. I won't stay in a place like that. And unless the management doesn't care about high turnover they will inevitably get what's coming to them. And if they don't care then again get the hell out. You Really don't want to work there.
I doubt if many bosses hate their employees. Why should they bother? The typical attitude is that the employee exists for the boss's benefit. Just like a rented car. If in fact the employee proves to be useful, fine; if not, the boss will get another. He couldn't care less for the employee's feelings, wants, life, or "career".
Of course if he is a sadist, things go downhill ...
We don't associate outside of work, but I've got no qualms with my current boss. Have zero fear of being thrown under the bus.
My boss's boss, however... Shame to know I will likely need to change employers to enjoy a promotion.
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