Work Question - Need opinions

Factual Questions
1

I have reached my one year anniversary at this mistake which I call a job. I am currently interviewing at other firms in town, but my hatred of this place, my resentment and annimosity has pretty much overtaken reason.

In my division, we have one major client. Internal politics of this miserable place being what they are, two people have positioned themselves as the representatives of the group. They meet with the clients, and pass the word to us. Usually this wouldn’t bother me, but they are really not the most qualified for the job. They are not the most intelligent, don’t really know all the questions to ask, and are not the most articulate. The beauty for them is, that they have convinced the big boss that our client is a particularly delicate individual, and that he should be treated as a child “you don’t want to overwhelm him with too many diferent people”, never mind the fact that most of the rest of the team has worked with this particular client before, and we know what he’s really like. So they have secured themselves a job as client relations, keepers of information, all upcoming jobs are being filtered through them.

So, on to my question. Among all the reasons of why this person is a delicate person, the fact that he was a “good old boy”, kind of a racist, has flippantly come up. In my review, should I, as a latin male, bring up the fact that I’m bothered by this statement. Does this mean I’ll forever be in the background? Keep in mind that there is still a chance I’ll hang around here for a bit.

2

I’d say your stuck. There is no law that says your boss has to rotate assignments. The “you don’t want to overwhelm him with too many different people” excuse is perfectly valid.

There is nothing legally wrong with your boss referring to a client as “racist”, it could even be true.

However, your boss can not be “racist” and not allow you to work. You would have to prove that you were not selected to be the company’s contact because you are a “latin male”.

3

ahh…lucidity…thanks for the advice, I know that’s the right answer, I’ve just been to angry to admit it.

I’m so angry with this place, that I was going to bring up questions, such as those, just to put him on the spot.

I’m just going to bite my lip…bring up things, never blame him, let him know I’m on his team, none of this is his fault…etc, etc, etc…hopefully by the next week I should be moving on.

4

You need a union.

5

ponch,

The only way to bring it up at all is as a “positive” - in your review. You can do this in a sneaky subversive way that makes you look like a positive person instead of a complainer (Bosses LOVE that). You want to structure your review as “ponch has done great work and has really been thinking about ways he could improve in the future.”

At some point you want to tactfully bring up:

“[Boss], as you know I’ve been working hard on X account and I have a lot of ideas for ways we could help them(describe ideas). I’ve really enjoyed working with Client X so far, and I’d like to have some more responsibility and more of a chance to work with X directly in the future.”

If Boss brings up the racist thing (in which case he’s an idiot) or the not overwhelming the client with too many people (a valid point) you are not dead in the water.

In case of the racist thing, REMAIN POSITIVE and put it back on your boss to take his foot out of his mouth. “I’ve worked closely with X on many occasions, and I’ve never had a problem with him. Don’t you think we’re just overreacting?”

If it’s the overwhelming the client thing - RETREAT, but not all the way!:

“I agree, [Boss], that [Cow-orker1] and [Cow-orker2] have built a great relationship with X and should continue to handle the day to day traffic on the account. However as we move forward in implementing some of these ideas, I think it would be beneficial to bring in team members who have a greater depth of knowledge of the issues to make the case for our recommendations. I think it will show the client how seriously we approach his business if we include key team members in important meetings.”

Remember, you want to bring it back to you and your goals and your performance and how it benefits the company - are there other accounts that could use you?

If the internal politics are as you describe, there’s probably nothing you can do to improve your situation. However you can walk out of your review smelling like a rose - Boss will have respect for your assertiveness, initiative, positivity, and all that other doublespeak bullcrap. And you might get a raise, which means you can demand even more from your new employer.

Cheers!
Maggiavelli