[defguy]

Nemencine and I have been carrying on this conversation via PM and he didnt want to get banned for creating a flame war especially since he is a newbie. But this is too good not to repost here.

My notes: I edited this post so bad grammer is my fault, sorry. Nemacine uses Manager and Boss interchangeabley, but is talking about the same person, ie. his Boss. I excluded our other conversations but the context is basically about BAD bosses, not some machevellian effort to overthrow good bosses who go to bat for our hard work.

Quote:

In my opinion, what rivelino wrote here as point #4. just proves my point. Just read that management hamster-speak for a moment and shakes your head.

".....the more an underling can take on entire projects for me, the more it frees me up to do new stuff to impress *my* boss...and like we were saying, if my underling is doing the entire project, then i don't even know the inner workings of how he's running it, which makes him much harder to replace, which gives him leverage, and which gives him status....also, it makes me like him more, because he makes my life easier...."

CAVEAT: rivelino can be a good boss. i dont know him personally. But his post highlights perfectly one of the problems i was talking about:

That was one of the points i was making before in this long post. check my point #3 and #4.

Here is an excerpts from #3

"......As such, for your Boss, for him to keep looking good infront of his boss. it is better to keep you down there so that your hardwork will make him look good....."

And excerpts from point #4..."......If you have a lazy boss that gets more and more dependent on you to do her job...she may use her office connections and play politics with your future and lock you down. Completely putting an end to your career advancement because this lazy boss couldnt live without you. To this lazy boss, you made her look good...why would she let you go? She needs you to do whatever she wants and makes her look good. ....".

You honestly think your Boss gives you all the credit when sitting in front of his Boss talking about the project(in your absence?)? Why would he do something that stupid?! Most likely not! if you are lucky, maybe a little credit.

And most of the time, he is not doing any "new stuff", he is busy playing fantasy football or checking facebook updates. While you worked your arse off.

Here is a genius idea: How about my Boss does his work, and i do mine? seems like a fair deal, no? Especially, since i am not being paid his salary.

Oh, rivelino is correct that you will get status...You have "status" means you get a lot of compliments from him above and beyond other workers...that is the extent of your "status" currency!

He is also correct that he will like you more. why wont he? you are doing his job for free! You are his beta-bitch!

He is also correct you will be harder to replace. You are hard to "replace" means your Boss wont want you getting transferred or promoted. That is the translation. i mean, why would he? What logic is in that? (i covered this while talking about Kate in workplace #3.).

CAVEAT: I DONT know if rivelino is a bad boss or good boss. I have faith that he is a good boss and I am not trying to single him out. But his statements dovetail perfectly with my concerns about "being too super-hardworking" and its consequences.

The only and important question is: How does this help you?

It doesnt really.

Leverage? what leverage? To ask for more vacation time? work less? hahahaha. Not at all. The fact that you are a hardworker means you get to use less vacation time and get more work; so that your boss can then turn around and use it to impress his boss some more. Of course, your boss is going to like you!

The only positives to this are:
#1. In office drama, your Boss will more likely take your side.
#2. He will ask for more raise for you.
#3. If they are laying people off, he will fight to keep you. he needs you to do his work, remember?

IF I AM WORKING FOR A BAD BOSS, how will i handle him? How will i play this game? The answer: THREE STEPS.

step #1: I will work hard but not too hard...i dont want too many multiple targets on my back due to collective jealousy...while performing slightly better than everybody else to get noticed, but not too superlatively better than everybody else to get hated by everybody. I will start surveying the layout of the land. I will then see who my Boss has as enemies and friends are. His manager that likes him, the one that doesnt. Look for his weaknesses....I will know who his spies are, the arse kissers, etc. I will start being friendly/networking with as much people as possible. I will make myself visible. You will make some enemies. It is part of the game.

My main question in step #1 is this: Which one of my managers bosses can promote me over him? and/or set me up with my own project management if they recognize my talents? Is there even a room for advancement at all?

Dont move to step #2 without a clear answer to these questions.

If the answer is a clear yes(that is, an aggressively growing company, etc)

Then step #2: I will then step on the jet engine. i will aggressively expand my responsibilities. Making sure both his bosses (the ones that like him and the ones that doesnt like him) knows that i am the one that does his job while praising my manager about his delegating abilities. I will talk about what a great delegator my boss is. While making sure my contributions goes well noticed behind his back. If my boss goes on a vacation or was sick--this will be my moment to truly shine--my taking over the project in his absence will clearly showcase to his boss that i have what it takes and also that my boss is expendable. I will make sure they(my manager's bosses) knows it. Especially, the ones that doesnt like him.

And When my boss comes back from vacation, i will make him feel truly missed.(which of course, it isnt the case at all! I couldnt give a shite about him. I care only about my own career here.)

If i havent being promoted to manage my own project after all this, or if my own personal timetable for getting a promotion/raise is running out, i will go to contingency plan: step #3.

STEP #3: I will use my increased responsibilities to booster my resume/cv and apply for a senior position to my managers job somewhere else. Afterall, i am already doing his job here already. I am going next level up. An aggressive 6 months worth of job interviews should allow me to get a job senior to my boss' at a different firm. Preferably at another firm that is aggressively growing itself.

Then step #4: REPEAT STEP 1 through 3 all over again at this new firm. Wash, Rinse, and Repeat.

One thing i am certainly not going to do is play a sucker's game where i "bridge the gap"...or trying to intimidate older PhD/MBA etc. I need their connections to get promoted to my boss' level or to bypass my boss' position.

These are the things i learn through trial and error; through opening my eyes and hears and see how people act, not just what they say. Through dealing with some heavy duty backstabbing, manipulative bitches.

Of course, if i am in a management position, i will give my underlings SOME job responsibilities..and preach rivelino's and westcoast's gospel. chapter and verse. What i preach and what i do are two completely different things. I will also give my underlings enough responsibilities, but not an INCH MORE...One of them could be just like me, why would i want him or her to learn my job equally or better than me? It makes no sense to me at all. I wont germinate an opportunity for that ambitious underlings to derail me. I MUST ACQUIRE and MAINTAIN POWER. At the workplace, i only care about myself. Everybody else is expendable.

this is why i found westcoast posts on the issue to be a bit too theorectical for my taste. I respect westcoast on many things...and the world of finance may be different. i dont know. But his statements doesnt match up with my own harsh realities. He seems to be skipping step 1 and starting at step#2.