Boss shopping work around

[ubercat]

I work as kind of a project manager. Now most of u have probably worked with PMs.

A PM is meant to lead their team. I had a days leave and the boss got this woman to start working on an estimate for some work on my project. Evidently it was so urgent it couldn't wait one day. And worse when I got back he was going to have a meeting without me and I had to push to be included.

It's like day labourer hire when the boss drives up in the pickup truck. My last boss did a bit of this too. Obviously the game is to get the workers to feel insecure and competing with each other to push more work through.

Thoughts?

 

[dude99]

Check into the labour laws of your country. Find out if it is legal or not what they are doing. If it isn't legal, a question i like to ask superiors who over step their bounds is this:

" hmmm. Wonder what the labour board would think of this?"

 

[speed dawg]

I am a PM type as well. My boss also creates a 'competition' type environment between the other PMs. He does not foster the stuff above, as your's does, but it certainly creates a situation where we all stay the same, and he moves up. He doesn't purposely or maliciously do this, it's just all he knows, and he thinks it's the best way. Sort of a welfare-type mentality. It has led to a few of the better 'riser' types leaving, and I'm sure they won't be the last. I've thought about it too. But at this point, I'm more trying to get out of debt, than I am trying to rise up at work, so I've lived with it. Eventually I will have to assess that situation again, too. It does seem like your boss is a little more hostile than mine.

I have some ideas that I think will work better, but I'm not exactly passionate about my work either, so for now I have stayed quiet. I'm not willing to go through a 'pain period' where I come out better on the other side, because truth be known, I'm not sure I want his job.

 

[Alvafe]

regardless, try to find another job, he want more competition? good send resumes around and see how the competition is doing, sometimes you can get a better deal out of it, other thing you could do is hoard some info of what you do, no one other then you will know such thing so he is forced to have you

 

[ubercat]

Thanks guys it's not a situation where he is trying to freeze me out. Probably get in trouble for saying this most of the team is Indian. And I've noticed when I worked in other teams like that but this type of team culture seemed to be prevalent. My last boss was Greek so it's not confined to that ethnicity my trouble is because I have a semi management type of position and ambitiousious underlings are only two willing to curry favour with the boss if he encourages that and step over the boundaries

 

[ubercat]

I had a chat with the woman in question. As expected she blamed it all on the boss. Even though she s definitely a player.

I said of course he s the boss but do me a favour if this happens again ask him if the PM should be there. She wriggled but I said it twice so she knows she s been told.

I d rather have appealed to her self interest. Anyone got alternative ideas?

 

[CMNILS87]

I am a PM type as well. My boss also creates a 'competition' type environment between the other PMs. He does not foster the stuff above, as your's does, but it certainly creates a situation where we all stay the same, and he moves up. He doesn't purposely or maliciously do this, it's just all he knows, and he thinks it's the best way. Sort of a welfare-type mentality. It has led to a few of the better 'riser' types leaving, and I'm sure they won't be the last. I've thought about it too. But at this point, I'm more trying to get out of debt, than I am trying to rise up at work, so I've lived with it. Eventually I will have to assess that situation again, too. It does seem like your boss is a little more hostile than mine.

I have some ideas that I think will work better, but I'm not exactly passionate about my work either, so for now I have stayed quiet. I'm not willing to go through a 'pain period' where I come out better on the other side, because truth be known, I'm not sure I want his job.

How many pm's you got at your place or what do you manage? Sounds like there's too many roosters in the hen house. It just always seems when you have that amount of middle management around, it's bad.

 

[BeExcellent]

Look more closely at the cultural standards. You taking a day off is seen as lazy or weakness. In your absence something came up that was a high priority to your boss so he found someone who was available to do it, which gave that person an audience & chance to influence your boss.

I have a client who I work on site for 10 days a month. The culture there is similar. People are expected to come in early, stay late & skip lunch. I just don't work like that. I brutally prioritize and accomplish what is important, delegating or deferring the rest. I set clear boundaries and I enforce them while also creating value. As a result I accomplish a great deal because I am efficient.

My client will sometimes gripe that I'm not there more. I simply remind him these are the terms I'm willing to work under and that I'm getting results. If he gets where that bugs him, he will let me go. I don't care. But because IDGAF he actually respects me more. He knows I can procure other clients and he likes the results so far.

But he is really entrenched in his thinking that volume of work = quality of work. This is false.

However:

One of the peripheral results of my arrival is that other upper management has stepped up and started pulling their weight more. This results in greater organizational momentum & efficiency.

I don't care how we make strides. I just want us to make them. But my place as an influence on my client is not lost. I simply point out how much more people are doing since I've arrived...which correlates temporally to both my tenure and the others becoming more efficient. My client sees this.

I am supportive & empowering to my employees and the managers who I oversee. But I make no bones about being result oriented. I am not there to make friends. I am there to lead an organization, improve revenue, make money for myself and gain additional executive organizational experience. I do it on my terms. I'm positive and friendly but I'm unafraid to discipline or discuss sensitive topics when they come up.

Is there a way you can delegate & defer more tasks to your team? If you do this you will be seen as having greater effectiveness while exerting less effort.

My client experience in this role is really allowing me to put the 48 Laws of Power to a road test. Um. They work.

If you haven't read that book or have read it in passing...pick it up and use it as a manual for your workplace. Any organization of any size functions according to those laws. You need to see which ones most apply in your environment and observe their principles like doctrine. You can thank me later.

I'd start by going over the bid your employee put together and encourage her to assume additional tasks. You then mentor the tasks.

This casts you in the leadership role, which you can then discuss with your boss, and sets you into a role of greater leadership & power if done well. Try it.

 

[ubercat]

Thanks BE not coincidentally I was on a website over the weekend that gives examples of how to apply the laws. I m also working my way thru the crucial conversations book.

 

[speed dawg]

How many pm's you got at your place or what do you manage? Sounds like there's too many roosters in the hen house. It just always seems when you have that amount of middle management around, it's bad.

3. And, we only 2 people under us to do the work, so yes, top heavy....or 'middle' heavy. It's a big problem. We manage mechanical engineering projects.