a) Move on to a more familiar/favourable environment (for me).
b) Get with the program and schmooze.
I’m leaning towards b).
I’ve been an independant consultant for 15 years of my near 20 year IT career. For mostly personal (and some job market) reasons, I’m looking for a soft place to land. At least for the next little while. Were this not the case, I’d be out so fast, they’d be looking at my vapour trail.
Also, moving up to senior level positions as I am, my technical skills are of diminished value and not the most important keys to success. I’m not incompetent or incapable of skilled human/business interaction, I’m just reluctant to be viewed as more a talker than a doer. Plus, I’ve got to deal with these ignorant assholes who think they understand IT and business analysis. My fear is that this place is typical and I’ll be running into these issues no matter where I go.
Time to suck it up, me thinks. Adapt or die (as it were).
Don’t think of it as “Adapt or die”, think of it as an under-cover mission. Your mission is to convince these people that you can warm fuzzy with the best of them. You’ll be like an actor!
Okay, so I’ve decided I’m staying. If for no other reason than to win this director position and prove to myself that I can do this. I can change and adapt - or at least act like I can. That and it’ll be a great poke in the eye of those who’d love to see me fail.
So question number two is: If you knew the people involved in making the decision, would you go and solicit their support (like in a political campaign)? If so, how?
Ooh, intriguing question. “How to pretend to schmooze.” Well, maybe like George Costanza, you should just do the opposite of your instinctive tendency. My first instinct would be to say, “I’ll get the promotion or not based on my abilities, so I won’t bother talking to anyone about it.” The opposite of that would be going and talking to the people making the decision, I guess. Tell them you’re interested, and maybe ask them what they’re looking for in the candidate they choose.
In a past job. A Supervisor who I really respected would do my annual review and have a glowing report except “Not a team player”. This was a job where work units were refered to as “teams”. I left for a better position in same field (supervisor), which I understand your reluctance to do. Six months later my old Supervisor called and said he was leaving for a very high up position and he was recomending me to be hired back to replace him! I laughed and asked him about the “team player” thing and he said “This job doesn’t need a player it needs a leader, you’ll do fine.”
Took the job. Was very successful for three years. Level of politics “up there” was impossible. Quit in anger. Went to work with old Supervisor, now partner.
aha, that sounds like fun I really hope it works out well (though when I first opened the thread my reply was going to be "oh no, my friend - it’s NOT a female vs. male thing) (I’m female and I detest the type of thing you are talking aobut too).
Best of luck. Nils illegitimo carborundum, and all that.
