1 of the newsletters I read today had this book review (The opening sentence rang true to me.):
"Like it or not, office politics is a reality in every organization, in every department and on every team. While it's easy to say that you're above politics because you're a techie, or that you're simply not interested in politics, these attitudes are a recipe for career disaster. Rick Brandon and Marty Seldman's "Survival of the Savvy" (Free Press, 2004) will help you recognize, and then deal ethically with a variety of political situations that you may face over the years...."
I don't like the politics but I do like learning & surviving so I've ordered a copy. The Amazon link shows other books of the same topic.
This article must have been written by someone who has not worked in a corporate environment. I have held positions in 5 major corporations and a few smaller companies. A very common bad boss personality type is one with a focus on style (showmanship) rather than substance (actual facts, real production, etcetera). Usually they never had written a program and do not understand the tasks or technology involved. One such manager defended an employee who took over 3 months to understand and document one (1) program. These types delegate any real work they have to do such as writing monthly summaries of major projects.
I am a good technician with a good personality, but try as I may I seem to rub these types the wrong way. At my last major company I came to realize the guy was a sociopath. (He either doesn't have the courage or never had the need to kill someone.) He formula for success was to suck up to his second line superior with enormous flattery. He never really produced anything like a finished product. Other people have had to complete his work for him. I heard this was the same at his prior job. How can I manage a manager who thinks they are a superior because they are the boss. My experience has been they are two faced. e.g. He will acknowledge to me the amount of effort and overtime I am demonstrating but go to HIS boss and say I am not being productive. When confronted directly he can not say what it is that he does not like about me. Therefore I conclude it must be something trivial. BTW he actually, but unknowingly, quoted the pointy haired boss in Dilbert.
My solution is to transfer or get another job. Does anyone have a better one?
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1 of the newsletters I read today had this book review (The opening sentence rang true to me.): "Like it or not, office politics is a reality in every organization, in every department and on every team. While it's easy to say that you're above politics because you're a techie, or that you're simply not interested in politics, these attitudes are a recipe for career disaster. Rick Brandon and Marty Seldman's "Survival of the Savvy" (Free Press, 2004) will help you recognize, and then deal ethically with a variety of political situations that you may face over the years. ..."
I don't like the politics but I do like learning & surviving so I've ordered a copy. The Amazon link shows other books of the same topic.
This article must have been written by someone who has not worked in a corporate environment. I have held positions in 5 major corporations and a few smaller companies. A very common bad boss personality type is one with a focus on style (showmanship) rather than substance (actual facts, real production, etcetera). Usually they never had written a program and do not understand the tasks or technology involved. One such manager defended an employee who took over 3 months to understand and document one (1) program. These types delegate any real work they have to do such as writing monthly summaries of major projects.
I am a good technician with a good personality, but try as I may I seem to rub these types the wrong way. At my last major company I came to realize the guy was a sociopath. (He either doesn't have the courage or never had the need to kill someone.) He formula for success was to suck up to his second line superior with enormous flattery. He never really produced anything like a finished product. Other people have had to complete his work for him. I heard this was the same at his prior job. How can I manage a manager who thinks they are a superior because they are the boss. My experience has been they are two faced. e.g. He will acknowledge to me the amount of effort and overtime I am demonstrating but go to HIS boss and say I am not being productive. When confronted directly he can not say what it is that he does not like about me. Therefore I conclude it must be something trivial. BTW he actually, but unknowingly, quoted the pointy haired boss in Dilbert.
My solution is to transfer or get another job. Does anyone have a better one?
I didn't mean to be Anonymous, I thought I was logged in.
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