We got a new boss at the beginning of the year. Qualified, seems very nice, all around a good thing.
Now, this boss has spent two months studying the department and, reportedly, the qualifications of all the staff. Meetings were held with supervisors and selected staff, not including me. Yesterday, there was a meeting with the direct reports to discuss the future of the department, followed by a lunch for the entire department.
Now, I am very good at what I do, and have made significant contributions. My supervisor would not have been able to do such a great job without me. I have learned out from my supervisor, but I have most definitely paid back with quality work. I thought we had a good and mutually beneficial relationship.
At this lunch, the plans for the department were not discussed. Nothing. The rest of the staff was told nothing about the new bosses plans. We were told our immediate supervisors would share them with us.
At this lunch, the new boss praised my supervisor for the great job done especially with the (implied insufficient) resources available. That would be me. It was then announced that my primary responsibilities would be spread throughout the department.
So, the new sheriff announced at the first department meeting that I was useless and would shortly be made redundant. My supervisor, for whom I have produced quality work and whose star I helped to polish to a high shine, just smiled with pride and satisfaction.
So, whom should I shoot, the sheriff or the deputy?
Oh, ouch. That’s an excellent example of why I never trust my employers to not screw me over because they’ll do it in a heartbeat for any reason (or even just out of not realizing that they’re doing it).
Well, thank you. I expected ‘Obviously, you’re not as good as you think you are’ by the third post.
My supervisor IS very good, competent and knowledgeable, and can do the work, or can get someone else to do it for the opportunity to learn. Everyone is very excited about the new boss; the department has needed someone with these professional abilities for a while. However, everyone needs a trustworthy boss, and every department needs someone with good judgement at the head. These two, in tandem, will not be good for anyone.
I’m pretty sure I’ll get a new job before I’m forced out - primarily because I was good to a lot of people from the department who have moved on recently. Right now I have two months, one exit interview and my good-bye party … and I have learned how people smile and smile and be a villian. I dream evil dreams of doing this myself.
Bummer. It looks like you aren’t taking this too personally, so keep with that. This sounds like a political move that unfortunately happened to involve you, and not a reflection of you or your work.
This is actually a very good thing to learn - you won’t be nearly as surprised the next time (or the time after that, or after that…) and you won’t feel any guilt at all at jumping ship any time you get a better offer, because now you know that they’ll do the same to you if they feel like it.
Yeah, but you probably won’t, because you know it isn’t right, regardless of the employment environment.
Not quite. They could be considering promoting me to a more responsible and lucrative position. But if they aren’t planning to fire me, their communication skills need a bit of a polish, don’t they?
Oh, thank you. You may not know this, but women are ALWAYS accused of ‘taking things personally’ when they speak up about being dis’d professionally - while their male counterparts are duking it out in the parking lots and board rooms.
To hell with that. If you screw me over and I get pissed, that’s professional.
Actually, I don’t know … I will certainly smile while being a villian, because that is required by my gender. I don’t plan to be a villian to anyone undeserving, but part of my job is identifying people who will not comply with regulations. If a smile gets them written up faster than a rant, I’m off to the dentist for some teeth whitening.
The only question is, will I be a villian for the sake of being a villian? I have noticed that nothing is better for a career than getting someone fired in the first three months; it’s even better than a major turn around in performance and productivity. (I really hate management.)
Could I do that in my next job? Probably not.
But I will never again fail to request that every work product I generate goes into my personnel file BEFORE my boss presents it.
