Am I barking up the wrong ladder?

Anonymous

September 28,2023 at 11:19PM UTC

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Am I barking up the wrong ladder?

And, if I am not, how do I constructively talk to my boss?

I work a union position as web content lead for a state agency. The position is newer and still has some fleshing out to do when it comes to the full scope, but my position description is pretty clear that I handle the management of our public facing sites and serve as advisor and journey mapper as we modernize those we have.

My boss is from the private sector. This their first time managing and we are a team of four. There is a lot to unpack here but I will try to keep this lean.

One their former bosses (who is a friend of mine and sometimes tries to help me navigate the situation) described my boss as "Ready, Fire, Aim!" which is accurate. They have a history of rushing into decisions (often that the team needs to fix), glazing over during any detailed information anyone gives and rushing us along, and generally charging ahead and then being demonstrably upset when they are stalled by the processes necessary when serving the public. They have (by their own and their bosses' admission) poor delegation skills and tend to micromanage and take other peoples work without telling them when stressed, which is often. They routinely have issues with one or more teammates who are a bit more set in their ways. This is the tip of the iceberg.

They are not a bad person, and are good at some things. They are a terrific salesperson, excellent speaker, protective of their crew and flexible about personal matters. It's nice that they have a lot of vision and ambition, too. We need that! It's just that I and the team wish we had a bit more insight into where they were going before they go there.

Recently we started wrapping up a major website revision project which I am kind of leading (I'm a collaborative sort and this is a very collaborative effort). They announced to me in an off hand manner during a 1x1 that they were moving ahead with several other major projects in my focus are and I was like, oh, this is the first I have heard of that. They seemed very nonchalant about this fact and kept right on talking, like oh, yah, I'm doing that and that and that. I let them know about some preliminary hurtles they would need to address and they were like, ok, thanks.

I have to admit I am a bit insulted. I'm trying to keep it in perspective and think this is obviously in keeping with how they are on a regular basis. But it does affect my work. On the one hand, if they charge ahead and I am blindsided, I won't be able to contribute. On the other if they just take the work away I don't get the growth and experience and chances are very likely I will end up fixing the mistakes.

Would I be stepping out of my boundaries to say hey, this is part of the scope of my job and I would like to understand your vision and timeline and be a part of this? And, if it comes to it, to explain that these things are in my job description? We are a union shop and it's generally not considered cool to duplicate duties. I'm just lost as to how to set my boundaries with this person without starting a war, or if I even should.

Thanks for listening. :)

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AnonymousSeptember 29,2023 at 12:40PM UTC
I have to admit that I don't know much about working in a union ship, but I do know you have an internal advocate (I think in some places it's called the shop steward) that works for the union. If they are encroaching on your territory, and it has the potential to threaten your position, they would be the best person to get some sort of guidance from.
AnonymousSeptember 29,2023 at 1:07PM UTC
Can you “manage up” by showing this person the way that you track your project development and progress? It has been a long time since I have done a web development project, but there were so many steps that really had to be checked off and tracked. The implicit message being, maybe you should leave this to the expert who is going to ensure it gets done right.
On the other side of things, if you stand back, let them take it on, and it fails, that’s on them.
in either case, talk with your union rep. You don’t necessarily have to take action, but they may have a recommendation on how to deal with this person, and and they can tell you what your rights are. If you have a labor agreement, you might want to review that as well. A conversation with the union also establishes a history, if you need to continue pursuing something later. And document your conversations with this supervisor— write yourself a memo for the record every time with dates, what was discussed, what the expectations were for you and what the person said they were going to do. Good luck.
Debra SesholtzSeptember 29,2023 at 2:27PM UTC
Instead of setting boundaries with your boss, what about showing your leadership skills? From what you mention, your boss is transitioning into a management role. This can be difficult without any guidance. If your boss is poor at delegating and has lots of future plans, ask how you can help. Show your leadership skills by offering to help them implement their ideas, and develop and implement project plans. They may be more open to sharing, delegating, and collaborating with this approach then by setting boundaries.
AnonymousSeptember 29,2023 at 4:05PM UTC
Thank you, this is good strategy. And it is a correct assumption that their own leadership tends toward a looser hand than perhaps a newbie manager needs. I think the struggle has been, for all of us, getting this person to understand that they can leverage our skills and strengths as we leverage theirs. That they don't need to -- literally -- do our jobs for us and they need to trust us. That said, yes, I can say hey, how can I help you get X done, and the first step is telling me about X.
AnonymousSeptember 30,2023 at 6:24PM UTC
I think that it’s reasonable and proactive to follow the path that you have suggested: politely advising your boss that this project falls in your job scope, that your expertise would be valuable, and that you’d like to help your manager succeed in their plans.
Your manager may well be very happy to receive your perspective, as they are likely not to have thought through the process and staffing details.
I understand why you are a bit insulted, but it’s quite possible that your manager’s failure to include you is a product of their “Ready, Fire, Aim” management style, rather than an expression of ill will.
That said, you also might want to keep your union quietly informed, in case you need union intervention at a later date.
AnonymousOctober 9,2023 at 5:48PM UTC
I often tell people to start their new roles by sitting their manager down and firmly deciding how to task work and when to add you into things for your own success. I think it's not too late to have that conversation. If you work in a union role you should have a union rep who can get involved and support the messaging if need be. Do write out how you need to get involved and when for new projects. Then when you meet you can firmly and professionally tell them that their directive will drive the project and you can let them know a out any hurdles that you hit in the process. Map it with timelines and resources (people-costs) built in. If you have tactical parts of the job that are in your job description be sure that what you have to do is well plotted. If you go in with "hey lets make this a raging success" then you have a better chance of helping it go that way being and active participant and not being frustrated or left out. If things go sideways because their plan is bad and you have done your job you have documentation that you were the fixer if you get to redo after their fail. Often bad managers need to fail to figure out how bad they are. Let go a bit of expectations and drive to the program you agree on.