One of my co-workers,
”
Ethan,
”
has considerable clout with our manager, more than any of the
rest of us. This has been going on for years. A few months ago,
Ethan and I had a serious disagreement when he directed me to do a
particular task. I chose not to complete the task because I felt he
did not have the authority to assign work to me.
Q:
One of my co-workers, “Ethan,” has considerable clout with our manager, more than any of the rest of us. This has been going on for years. A few months ago, Ethan and I had a serious disagreement when he directed me to do a particular task. I chose not to complete the task because I felt he did not have the authority to assign work to me.
Ever since the conflict with Ethan, my boss has been treating me differently. He seldom talks to me and will openly correct me in meetings.
I’ve also started getting undesirable assignments, undoubtedly due to Ethan’s influence.
I am fed up with this situation and ready to leave. However, our business was recently acquired by a much larger company, which will greatly expand the career options here. Should I stay or go?
A:
After enduring this aggravation for years, do you really want to bail out when the solution may be right around the corner? Since transferring internally allows you to escape the pain of a job search, leaving now would seem to be a foolishly impulsive decision.
To capitalize on these expanded opportunities, however, you will need positive recommendations. Like it or not, your boss is your most important reference, so repairing that relationship should be your top priority. As it is, you are actually shooting yourself in the foot by intentionally provoking his protege. Refusing to accept the task from Ethan was a politically stupid move. A more intelligent response would have been to initially agree, then check back with your manager to see if this was a valid request. Instead, you chose to childishly convey your resentment by ignoring the assignment, thereby making yourself appear obstinate and uncooperative.
If you want to be considered for future opportunities, you need to stop fretting about favoritism and start focusing on your own career. Playing silly games with annoying people will only serve to damage your reputation.
Q:
I am approaching my one-year anniversary as department manager and would like to get some feedback by surveying the 60 employees in my group. I want to know how they think the department is doing, what improvements could be made, and how they view me as a manager. What’s the best way to do this?
A:
Kudos to you for taking time to learn from the people who actually produce the goods or deliver the services. Wise managers realize that their employees possess a wealth of useful business information. For your survey to yield valid data, two conditions must be met. First, employees need to know that their responses will be completely anonymous.
Otherwise, concerns about offending management will cause their answers to have a positive bias. Second, the survey must be designed and administered using established research techniques. To meet both these criteria, use an established outside vendor with experience in conducting employee surveys. Just be sure to ask for references, as you should with any consultant.
