This happened years ago but it still makes me grin, Grinch-style.
I was working on a really big project at the time. The VP was aware that I was the main resource on the project, so he included me in the status meetings.
My manager did NOT like that; she didn’t want anyone else getting any kind of recognition for the project. so I was instructed to sit there and keep my mouth shut.
The next status meeting came around and I did just what she told me to do: I sat there, taking notes and saying nothing... right up until the VP started asking questions about project details, which she couldn’t answer because she was the only person attached to the project who did not actually *work* on the project. She was furious but what could she do?
After that disaster, I was allowed to attend *and* participate.
I was put on a project to provide field related assistance. Guy in charge was not happy, and sent an email to keep my opinions to myself(had not even said anything yet). A few weeks later I noticed that his draft had some flaws. I said nothing and it ended up costing 15k to rectify. Department head who put me on the project asked if I saw it, to which I confirmed. Showed him the guy's email and the head ripped the guy a new one.
It would have been hilarious if you sent an email to yourself pointing out the flaw, so you can prove you raised the issue as instructed
I used to do this and then place the emails in a folder named "Hate to say I told you so". Had a few occasions where a manager would stand behind me with other people demanding I show proof and then me opening this folder and saying "Ah yes, here you go!". Priceless.
in IT for 30+ years, I always ALWAYS have my ass covered with a CYA folder
I even had business cards printed that read "I told you so" - but the boss asked me to stop handing them out as some people have had their sense of humour surgically excised.
They needed more interior space so they could fit their entire head up their ass, I guess?
I think its so they can have their head partway up their ass whilst keeping their mouth outside, so they can kiss ass obsequiously
Now that’s a $20 word
Obsequiouslyastic even
Wasn't that word used in one of the Wicked shows? 😋
I had a CARE folder. Cover Arse Retain Employment.
I LOLed at "having their sense of humour surgically excised." Highly amusing.
lol I too have a folder literally named CYA
Now I’m gonna create a folder named that for myself and thank you every time I put an email in it!
I’m going to make one today!!
I don't care how big my pst file gets, the only emails I delete are the automated alert ones.
Oh, you want to bitch? Here's the email i sent you 34 months ago and you ignored with how to fix the thing you're complaining about.
You're just following instructions and also future proofing anyone saying 'well you didn't notice either'
That’s smart 😮🔥
Classic CYOA with paper move
About 4 jobs ago I corrected the a C-suit on a minor detail that would have cost the company about $30,000. He told me never to correct him again. The next meeting they wasted $800,000 on a project that later ballooned into $2 million to fix but I was gone by that point. I kept records of it, but I never did get any blow-back. Last time I checked they still worked there.
Not just using their words on them but sharing them with the boss. That's a happy moment
Is there security footage of that savage burn? I've got my popcorn at the ready.
I wish. The department head was a really great guy to work with, and I have nothing but praise for him based on my experience. Since the matter was rather serious, I didn't want to play any office games and just dropped the deeds. Guy in charge of the project was middle management(while I'm on the lower rung), so there was even less fault to just go with what he said.
Would love to have been a fly on the wall witnessing that
Muhahaha
I have seen this play out as a third party in many project meetings.
It's very clear to everyone what is going on and I love sharing a smile with the actual silent adult in the room.
so satisfying when the truth comes out and someone gets what’s coming to them
I’ve had this happen me too. Just sat there with my shut.
I’m a community manager for an apartment complex & have been in this industry for almost 20 years. I’ve been at my current site for almost 12 years. I know a little bit. I try to help as much as I can when asked.
But…
Sometimes a new regional comes in not knowing a damn thing about what’s going on or even trying to learn about their own portfolio, site staff & treating us like 5 yr olds in a condescending, patronizing way. Plus, they have never been a site manager. Fuck em, I let them drown on their own. Those types usually don’t last long.
Edit to correct spelling of complex.
One more example of seagull management: Flies in, shits on everything, flies away.
If they knew how stupid they look they would crawl so far up their own ass they would disappear.
What does $ mean? Is it supposed to be an ampersand instead?
Fixed- thanks
compland? I assume you mean complex but is this some new tiktok censoring trick?
Using established punctuation in new ways! We’re entering a new . so get out there and take comm&! Mark is in charge of the project, so if you need any advice you can - on over and go ?.
Take this — and shove it up your * 😡
e.e. cummings has entered the chat
What's scary is that I totally understood this!
~IL
There they fixed it 😆
I joined a team as the most junior project engineer (but closest to the work) but was still invited to customer meetings. The boss was happy for me to jump in and answer a customer's questions. He had two rules. "No lying to the customer and the responsibility for what you say being correct is on your head". The customer confided that our project was his favourite as he could rely on what he was being told. He was very forgiving and would work with us when things went wrong.
Best job ever.
Ain't that the truth. I always wanted my name associated with "tell her what you need and she'll take care of it." Rather than, uh, good luck, her head is up her ass.
Either her mind reading failed or your telepathic communication is on the fritz.
OP's ESP was indeed on the fritz-he was telepathetic.
It's really erratic mind-reading.
I feel like it's more a case of tel-apathy.
Well put!
for me, I usually don't get the 'tele' bit :/
I had a related situation to this one. I had a relatively new boss in a merged org, who was a huge gatekeeper for everything that pertained to the part of the org they had been from.
They were quite successful in keeping me away from any contact with key players in that part of the org -- in fairness, I wasn't trying to do more work if no one wanted me to do more work. Then they were away from work from one full month, and in that time, people who had needs decided to reach out to me for them to be handled.
They liked my support so much, that even after my manager returned, more than 80% of the people still came to me directly for support. It was glorious (for me).
I've never yet encountered one of these gatekeeper, "you must only go through me" types whose attitude and approach means that they deliver a better quality of experience/work.
No matter how good they are at their job, sooner or later it slows things down when they force everything to go through this bottleneck they've deliberately built.
It boils down to prioritising their own ego/insecurity over the quality and speed of the work that they're delivering.
Opposite that, I had a manager that only hired competent workers. His shit always ran right and tight, only need to talk to him for issues that maybe required a signature or opening up a secure area.
I think I seen him about 5 times in 10 years. We talked about totally unrelated things.
Great job until they broke the union.
I think this is a part of what I'm missing lately. I just want to work with people who I can trust are doing their jobs, and work for people who trust me to do mine.
I used to work in a much more hands-on industry and that was how things went there. You hired competent people and if they couldn't do the job, you got somebody else in for the next project. You were allowed to make a mistake, but you weren't allowed to keep on making it indefinitely.
But since I've moved to office work, I swear at least 20% of my working days is spent cleaning up shit that someone else hasn't done properly, or trying to clean up after things that have gone wrong in my own work because something wasn't done right elsewhere.
I managed to retire, but since covid passed, it seems a lack of competence is taking hold.
Lackluster performance seems to be the norm anymore.
Best of luck to you, it aint fun out there anymore.
I just started a new job back in June. My manager is very old school and I absolutely adore him. As long as you're willing to learn and put cross checks in place to make sure you don't have the same mistake twice he's very hands off.
Radical change from the unhinged harpy at the job before. Everyone was a target and if she wasn't happy she'd very literally scream at the target du jour. And she wonders why she can't keep an accountant and her books are fucked up and fixing them takes forever. Owner of the company so it's not like she will be replaced 😒
The few times I had to manage a project (which I usually succeed in avoiding) I want everybody on my team to be better than me. So I can trust them not to need time-consuming hand-holding, and so I can trust them to catch anything I miss.
I've had to put my for down once after a senior manager came to my team asking them to implement urgent changes instead of coming to me asking for solutions.
He got what he asked for. Then we had to rip it out to give him what he needed. Not a dumb guy by any stretch, he was just too close to the pressure and close enough to the details to think he knew what the problem was.
The XY Problem has entered the chat.
I am not familiar with this term. Would you care to elaborate?
That's when you start asking for X because you've already decided that's the solution to problem Y — when what you should be asking about is information and possible solutions for the actual problem Y.
https://xyproblem.info/
Absolutely true! Read my example above. You hit the nail on the head with your comment.
So your VP knew you were the main resource of the project so included you in the status meetings, but directed questions to your manager who couldn't answer, and then just not redirect those questions at you, instead allowing you to stay silent at your manager's expense?
Were your VP aware of the shit your manager was trying to pull or something?
I don’t think the VP really liked her (hardly anyone did, tbf), so I suspect he enjoyed putting her on the hot seat. 🤣
Many times yes, when leadership sees and lets so called leaders hang themselves, it is impressive.
If the VP brought them on without informing the manager then one of two things likely occurred: VP saw someone worth their time, or VP figured out manager is less than they originally thought and is setting up the situation to deal with it (testing the underling to take over, figuring out just how useless the management person actually is to decide if they should be replaced, etc.).
I've had this exact same situation but the manager asked me during the meeting 'hey ..., can you answer this question?' and I just said 'nah, I don't want to get in trouble's
Not a month later the person called in sick and never came back 🤣
I don't get why people do this. I always "big up" my people, praise the ones doing the actual work and get them the recognition they deserve. My job is to take all the BS away from my team so they can do the work without putting up with the bureaucratic overhead.
I used to call my boss the 'bullshit filter' and made a point of doing it for my staff too when I levelled up.. I'm paid to play the game, they're there to get the work done.
Yes this!! I received employee of the year last year and meant every word I said when I said it was all because of my team. I can't be successful without them being successful. My role is here as support for them and filter stuff off when escalating
Managers like us are looking for our team to succeed. Other managers are scared of their team replacing them.
I had a director that was like that. If I opened my mouth to speak, he would cut me off and say some kind of drivel like well it’s still early and all of the information isn’t readily available, can I get back to you on that? Then when the meeting was over, he’d ask me for the answer and send an email out to all of the meeting participants.
He was also very bad at holding up his hand to signal me not to speak. Of course our people on the phone (CEO, VP and higher ups) weren’t aware of the hand signals.
One meeting he cut me off mid sentence when I had provided enough information for them to see that I knew the answer to their question. Our CEO very sternly told my director that it’s incredibly rude and unprofessional to interrupt and cut off another person mid sentence and he needed to shut up and let me speak.
In addition he told my director that unless he had something pertinent to say, he just needed to sit there and be quiet.
So then the director decided to have me removed from the meeting calendar invites for any future meetings. Our CEO asked about me in the next meeting and saw that I was removed from the invite list.
From what I was told by project management, the CEO really came down on him in that meeting for removing me. So the CEO sent me a direct message asking me politely if I could possibly join the meeting in the conference room if I weren’t in the middle of something.
Of course I picked up my laptop and notebooks and walked to the conference room.
My title by the way was PM Coordinator and the meeting was a weekly status update for a multi-million dollar project.
Apparently I threatened my director and by doing nothing during those meetings, he let his own insecurities show.
Was your manager punished in any way by VP? That would've been glorious. Or was it a lesson for her and she became more knowledgeable about projects in her queue? What if every time the VP heard her name attached to a project, he asked to speak to the people who were Really doing the job. Hehe.
He punctured her inflated ego by letting her look stupid, lol.
That was good. :)
Her ego was inflated by her insecurities, which were trying to hide behind it.
The way it usually goes. In the same way only strong people can be gentle, only competent folks don't have to hide behind inflated personas. Makes it really clear who actually has their shit together and who's posturing.
I can just see it. VP asks a question, which Mgr cannot answer, so he asks you. You give Mgr a little side-eye and reply "I'm sorry, sir. I've been instructed to not say anything in these meetings." of course, the side-eye is required, so VP knows who told you to be quiet...
I've had similar experiences wherein a business leader wanted to look knowledgeable and specified to me that she would handle the Q&A with a potential new client.
Idiot woman couldn't answer their questions. I could have but she was very specific about my not answering. I still laugh about this years later!
Amazing how many managers don't want the underlings to get credit and that ALWAYS seems to bite them in the ass.
Classic case FAFO lol
This is brilliant. I'm retired now, but in hindsight, I should have attended some of the higher up meetings and kept my mouth shut -- unless it was something that I specifically knew about.
Too bad they didn’t question you directly. “Sorry, I am not allowed to respond to your questions sir”! Would have been interesting to see what happened then.
I’ve had a number of bosses during my 40 years in IT/Security. One of my recent bosses was a woman who clearly was involved with the CIO. She gets put over the team but needs me to be the team lead. We would attend quarterly sr mgt meetings where they would ask her a question and she would look to me like a deer in the headlights. She eventually was let go and I was promoted to director. Company politics are strange bedfellows
This is the way.
Sounds like your manager was pretty threatened by your involvement.
i think I'd use a sick day for the next meeting.
Just sayin'
Upper management put me in charge of handling a sensitive and time critical issue. I did everything correctly, all stakeholders were informed, contingencies put in place, but then my manager got wind and insisted on being involved. After one hastily and confusing power point presentation later I was personally confused about what the fuck we were doing.
It seems that the VP probably wanted you in charge of the project however it seems that other forces were behind the scenes steering managerial decisions.... Life is weird
Seen that too. Sad situation indeed. People are getting a very, very lucrative pension from the company for being a catastrophy.
Cool