Problems at the job

[letsgetsilly]

Hello all,

I've just started a new job in a new city, and I'm already running into new problems and challenges that I've never faced before.

I'm working as an IT consultant developing web applications in Microsoft .NET. I've joined a company that appeared to present the best opportunity in terms of mentorship, education, stability, and benefits.

I'm currently working as part of a team developing a solution for a client. The problem is that the technical lead, the person I was hoping to learn from, does not know .NET.

This wouldn't be a problem if this person were a very competent manager aware of one's weaknesses, but the opposite is true. This person is overly confident and arrogant, leaving very little room for collaboration on the project, as well as communication.

I've sat it out for a few weeks trying to be professional and perform probing questions in meetings to request new courses of action, new techniques, and different ways of accomplishing things, but none of these efforts have produced desired results.

Now I'm stuck with a project that is behind schedule, over budget, and horribly misled, but due to my relatively new experience with the company, I don't carry the weight to insist on change, and unfortunately they do not value my experience which happens to far outweigh the technical lead's.

To put things in perspective, I've been seriously considering a new job. I've never been so insulted as I have in this position. However I think it is my responsibility to attempt a middle-ground solution.

I'd love to hear suggestions on what is possible to do in this position, or what you may have done in the past to work around these types of things.

My current strategy is to write a document outlining requesting clarification of my job responsibilities, and stating my risk assumptions about the project. This method will focus the attention on myself instead of pointing fingers, and will serve to identify risks for the project and things to help the team, vs what my team lead can do better.

Any suggestions? TIA.

 

[cubeless]

go with the wally model... don't put anything on paper, it's always a loser... get your tasks, do your tasks, grow up to be the boss some day and get revenge on the next gen of employees...

 

[Caecus Veritas]

sometimes you'll have really good managers... sometimes not... well, more likely not. but you gotta learn to cope with it. sucks but that's reality. you've got to learn how to deal with these types of managers (often times, first thing you'll need to learn is how to cover your own ass when working with know-nothing but know-it-all managers as they will blame you when shit hits the fan)

if it gets really bad, the only other option is to look for a new job. no need to give the real reason why youre quitting. just give a polite reason and leave. but make sure that u do have a job before quitting.

if you cant - these are some of the things i do -
1. use e-mail for as much correspondence as possible. if finger pointing pursues (and they will), e-mail will be your only friend. without, it's the manager's word versus the inexperienced new guy.
2. when appropriate, offer your thoughts and advice to the manager (hopefully in e-mails) but don't be assertive or pushing. just let him know your thoughts and let him decide how to proceed. it's his job to decide on the course of action. hopefully, when he fucks up you'll have excuse when the management starts digging. and hopefully, you've been cc'ing your e-mails to co-workers and other applicable people. that way, other people are aware as well.
3. always maintain your cool. don't lose your temper. no need to get stressed. no need to point out flaws or mistakes by the manager. just won't help.

 

[letsgetsilly]

Thanks for the tips Caecus Veritas. Refreshing to see a cool-headed approach, it's difficult to remember when things are so heated.

What do you think about my document idea? Throwing myself to the wolves? The idea was to provide some sort of paper trail for myself to prove that I saw the risks to begin with and cover my butt, but also hopefully motivate some change.

The problem with CC'ing people is that unless I CC the VP, then I'm not going to have anyone to back me up, as the project manager is in good with the technical lead. I'd have to CC over her to have any proof, and it wouldn't serve much purpose.

 

[Geekbabe]

The problem with CC'ing people is that unless I CC the VP, then I'm not going to have anyone to back me up, as the project manager is in good with the technical lead. I'd have to CC over her to have any proof, and it wouldn't serve much purpose

Simple, you CC everyone that's in the loop on this project including the VP, of course when you do this make that email cliff notes style, brief, but very clear and to the point.You might mention that you've talked with your boss about issue X,W or Z and wonder what he thinks... take a neutral tone.. if the VP loves your thoughts,your boss can then look golden... even the weakest,most inept manager gets this after you do it a time or two and most will gladly gran the life presever they're being thrown.

 

[KingGheedora]

Is the tech lead your manager? Do you know .NET?

Write up an email about the project, not about you, and not about the tech lead or anyone else. You don't want attention focused people (though everyone is going to be all "daaaayyuuuuum he just dissed tech lead!", and tech lead is going to hate you). What you need to do is outline the client requirements that are not going to be met, and suggest solutions for each problem. Do it all in a single, well formatted email (nothing fancy, don't write it up as a document attached to email. Send as rich text/html email, just format so that it's well organized and easy to read). Don't include any statement that don't convey some useful information.

For each problem you describe, try to give examples of what the client wants, and what the bad tech lead's solution would actually do instead. All of this should come off as you caring about the project, because that is all that really matters. Send it out to everyone relevant, definitely include the PM, the techlead, any other developers on the project, and also any other people directly involved, like QA people/managers. Don't jump over anyone's head with it, unless those higher ups are directly involved with the project (in other words, don't CC the VP who just keeps
asking when will it be done?, but do CC maybe a VP of the development group, who is involved in the day to day of the project).


Other than that, you will want to talk to your manager the next chance you get, and tell him that one of the things you want on the job is mentorship, and that you don't feel you can get that from tech lead. If you guys aren't big enough company to have other tech leads you can work under, probably nothing will change and it will be up to you to decide if you should stay or find other employment. If tech lead is your boss, don't make it out like that, make it out like "I want to work on projects with more interesting technology, more planning up front" just make suggestions on what you'd like to see on projects in terms of process and technology.

 

[richardycc]

wow, I feel your pain. I was in similar situation when a new manager joined my group awhile ago. Things are getting better though...welcome to real world, I guess a lot of big company is like this. playing the office politics game is the full time job, all the real work is just a side job to kill the hours.

Do you know .NET well at all? the fact that you are only a consultant, which means they can let you go at anytime, and just tell you your assignment is over, sometimes they don't even have to give you any reasons. I've seen that at my company, they let a consultant go not because he was incompetent because he did not get along with his boss.

my advice to you: learn .net on your own if you don't really know it. Don't make your boss look bad, save all your emails, and document everything, its all about CYA. Don't make any mistake, good luck man!

 

[spacejamz]

how do you know that the same situation will not re-occur at a new job (i.e, the grass is not always greener on the other side)?

 

[Caecus Veritas]

document idea.... errrmmmm... gonna have to say it's a bad idea. i just don't see any good coming out of it. it'll only make you look like an arse.

about cc'ing e-mails. the primary reason for that is to leave a record that you can pull up in the future if the manager ever trys to screw you royally. he may say to his superior - well, i told letsgetsilly to do this and this, but blabhblahblah. this is when you bust out the e-mail record and cc the senior person and manager, letting them know that you did indeed discuss the issue with the manager... or whatever the issue may be.

you don't really have to cc the vp at this moment. the important thing is to be able to keep a record of your conversation with the manager.

second - and this is ONLY if you're willing to put up with the bs and just want to get the work done right - try to make him feel important. don't try to prove why he's wrong - especially in front of other people. often times, trying to point out mistakes to these omnipotent managers is the last thing that'll work.

when dealing with these godly managers, you just gotta keep your tone happy and respectful. if you have an idea that trumps his, communicate it to him privately (i.e. e-mail, it's easy to communicate and you'll retain a copy!). and don't make it sound like you think your way is better than his. try to make it sound like he's the god of programming and want him to review your idea.

the point is to make him feel less threatened by you. the more he accepts you as his subordinate, the more he'll continue to listen to you, making your life easier. he'll be more inclined to incorporate your ideas into the project (well... you'll probably not get the credit but that's not the point right?)

anyhow, good luck with the crappy manager. when all else fails, find a new job. and if he pisses you off to no end (and you really shouldn't do this - you don't know how it's gonna come back to bite ya), give him a piece of your mind in front of all the people