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Samuri -
I've had the delegation thing from my boss too. All my team work ridiculous hours, we're completely overloaded. Clearly that's my fault as well.
OK - take a step back and look at it from afar. Is it possible that your team are working long hours because you/they don't know how to prioritise, say no, or have some underlying issues with hardware/code that should really be solved but its easier to patch over? If your team are really right on the limit all the time, then your company needs to understand the risk it faces, eg. an otherwise insignificant technical failure will cause the organisation to grind to a stop for days, or if one of your team gets long term sick / killed you instantly have a major hole, or if someone quits.
Of course if you have surrounded yourself with good people and fostered a good working environment / healthy ethos then they will rally round your vision of a better, slicker operation within your department and help you achieve it. If you've got second rate guys who spend all their day surfing the net and then complaining about workload, who think you're an ejit from management then you are stuffed. You don't need to compromise your principles to fix the problem - you just need to be more effective at the job they are paying you to do (not the job you think you do!).
Exactly.ransos - Member
I have a tatty car and a modest salary. I think life has been extremely kind to me. It depends how you measure success, I suppose.
[i]These guys are definately focused on their own personal objectives. I do not see a lot of company focus in their actions. They'll do it when they know it improves their standing but it's usually coincidental.
[/i]
Mate, it's the norm it seems - I was the same as you and consequentially the one who was laid off 🙂
You need to chill out, let them play their games and realise that they need to work twice as hard as keeping their jobs as they haven't the background/experience that you have.
And that their staff probably have very little respect for them, whereas yours will (I'm guessing), as you do your best not to drop them in it?
So, from experience, chill out and focus on keeping your boss happy - and let them get one with it.
And when/if you get laid off, your bank balance will be fine - esp. as you haven't spunked it on flash cars/suits etc.
You need a high end technical specialist job. They do exist. Decent wage, pure techie work.
It's funny how this forum seems to have a lot of folk who were just bullied/overlooked/picked-on and generally feel that life has been unkind to them.
I think that needs to be broken down a bit. Being overlooked or picked on seems to be normal human behaviour in our society nowadays. Bullying designed to cause emotional or physical harm is a criminal offence with a possible jail sentence and must be stamped out. Don't expect any help with these complaints, you're on your own. Don't rely on others' witness statements, just hold onto the paper trails.
You need a high end technical specialist job. They do exist. Decent wage, pure techie work.
Agreed, but (and I think you'd know Molgrips) they tend to come at a large cost to personal life and work/life balance. You'd be travelling the country in that BMW wondering where you'd left your bike.
The only effective way I've found of communicating an overwhelming workload is to not do some of it, and make my management choose what I (by me I mean my team and I) should drop. Apparently simply telling some people isn't enough :-/
[i]Bitterness and spending too much time on here might be your issue. [/i]
😉 I rarely come here nowadays for more than five minutes at a time. I was contrasting our mindsets more than our financial circumstances. I know most of them use their annual bonus to help buy themselves a new car.
I'm spunking my bonus this year on a macbook for myself, a big family holiday and a big shopping trip for us all and I'll keep my Accord for a few more years. I'd rather see my family smile than look smugly at the peasants from my shiny piece of overpriced German engineering.
(I'll just look smugly at the peasants over the top of my overpriced laptop)
Jon. We've spoken about this before. I'm sure there's much sage advice up there. But you know what to do. Kill them. Kill them all 🙂
Oh and what d'ya mean 'tatty' accord. That was in perfect pre-loved condition when I sold it to you. Granted it was five years ago and you keep driving into things, but even so. Barely run in!
*one* thing
And that was my wife's fault.
Samurai,
Sounds like you're working in the wrong place, mate. I have had similar experiences and I think there are some common denominators:
Size of organisation - The larger the organisation, the more opportunity for people to advance without actually doing anything of any worth.
Culture of organisation - assuming a large % of the higher management have either blagged their way up, or got lucky with being recruited in from outside, this becomes a self-reinforcing cycle. Lots of people who really don't know the 'nuts and bolts' seeking to look good rather than doing something of real worth.
Intrinsic value of organisation - believe it or not, there are companies and organisations that perform well [u]in spite[/u] of their management teams - they have always had a good product and loyal customer, so there is actually little they can do to really balls it up. Of course, in such circumstances the management should really be looking to rationalise themselves - but I can't remember the last time I saw turkeys voting for Christmas.
I used to work a FTSE 100 Plc Retailer. The opportunities for progress nearly always went to people who talked a good game. The main pre=requisites were a professional qualification (to protect the senior managers' consciences if something went wrong) and then, basically, skillful self-promotion.
I took on a department from someone who had been moved up a 'bright young thing'. I actually found that she'd papered over the detailed (but really important) problems, been economical with the truth to say the least, and associated herself with all the prestige stuff. Everyone who had worked alongside or under her knew her failings, but the brass neck approach seemed to work wonders.
If this all sounds bitter, it's because I was at the time. It really is shocking. You just have to hope that sooner or later all the bluff and bluster catches up with them. But then it's on a new company with a snazzy job title on your CV.
My advice is to move to a smaller organisation. More risky, perhaps, but the opportunities to actually do things of worth are more prevalent, because a greater proportion of the work will actually be of use to the organisation.
I moved to a medium sized retailer and have really enjoyed it. I'm not saying that it doesn't sometimes really hack me off (today being a good example), but in the end, the vast majority of my prospects and dangers are now self-inflicted (and so under my control). Generally speaking, if I do good stuff my 'stock' goes up, waste time or produce crap and it goes down.
Your organisation sounds a bit rotten. If the very top of your board are not able to see it for what it is, it's time to go. Not great timing right now, so maybe hang on for a bit if your organisation does OK in spite of the management, then at the first opportunity get out. If you're of an IT background you can always offer yourself as a 'consultant' later 🙂
Someone commented on people who come here reporting being bullied or exploited at work.
Isn't it obvious? Folk on here don't belong to the golf club.
Can sympathise with OP. I'm working my butt off with some ideas which could if handled correctly make the organisation a real stand out in the field but am now on version4 each being more watered down than the previous, version5 will be what we did 5 years ago but presented on PowerPoint. All the "workers" will recognise it for what it is but the bosses will want to go for it. Possibly lassoing that unicorn. Meanwhile I will look like a cock (to the people i like and have to work with shoulder to shoulder) for selling an old idea.
Hey-Ho.
Agreed, but (and I think you'd know Molgrips) they tend to come at a large cost to personal life and work/life balance. You'd be travelling the country in that BMW wondering where you'd left your bike.
Perhaps. However I tend to think that a few weeks here and there is infinitely preferable to a lifetime staring at the same ****g four walls. I can't imagine doing that now, makes me shudder!
I'm generally travelling for half the time, which I think is a fair compromise for the benefits the work gives me, and work are extremely understanding about sending us away from our families.
Anyway I always have either trainers or a bike with me, so it's not so bad 🙂
It's the reality of corporate life... especially at the moment as so many people feel insecure about the future. And don't forget it;s the people who feel insecure tend to play the games...
IME, small companies have a lot less of this stuff, much harder to play games and hide from doing real work, more of a family feel (and no all-day meetings!)
Personally I would get out, the company culture is clearly one which doesn't match your values and you don't want to behave in a way which the organisation defines as appropriate ie: play games.
I did a course on organisational savvy at my current place where we were told that doing your job forms only 10% of the factors that get you promoted. The other 90% was your image and your reputation (based on research at IBM apparently). I still can;t believe my own employer told me to play games for 90% of my time and do my job for the remaining 10%... go figure!
Having only recently gone into large corporate and lost my job over not understanding the political game, I would recommend these two books:
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/21-Dirty-Tricks-Work-Politics/dp/1841126578/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338242616&sr=8-1 ]Dirty Tricks in the workplace[/url]
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Some-People-Have-Others/dp/0061789089/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338242657&sr=1-4 ]Power[/url]
Be aware of the games, stay out of them and remember life's too short to waste it in the company of adults behaving like children...*
* unless we're talking about grown men messing around on bikes with their mates at the weekend, that's perfectly acceptable 🙂
I worked in IBM and that doesn't ring true. Like many large corporates, IBM valued technical ability and rewarded it very highly. It wasn't unusual to be earning more than your boss.brooess - Member
I did a course on organisational savvy at my current place where we were told that doing your job forms only 10% of the factors that get you promoted. The other 90% was your image and your reputation (based on research at IBM apparently).
I did a course on organisational savvy at my current place where we were told that doing your job forms only 10% of the factors that get you promoted. The other 90% was your image and your reputation (based on research at IBM apparently). I still can;t believe my own employer told me to play games for 90% of my time and do my job for the remaining 10%... go figure!
That's properly mental.
I'm in a very similar sitution as Samuri, however, I would say my peers are actually generally not dicks, some of them are definately better at navigating the political bollocks than I am and I have spent a lot of time studying how they work.
Mostly they deliver results that matter, but crucially they are good are the narrative too, call it spin if you like, but there is definately an art to communicating (not bullshitting) with people in a way that both reaffirms their status but conveys your agenda.
If you're set at sticking it out for another 18 months then I would practice and practice.
Plus I would read The Third Discipline and Start with Why.
I'm not sure you understood the course! What they actually said was "just doing your job" will likely not get you promoted. If you want promoted you need to make sure you do the job you are meant to do AND make sure you do the other bit (i.e. some self promotion to ensure everyone in the organisation recognises your value). They didn't tell you to split your time 90:10; they said thats what influences promotion most - but failing to do the 10% will usually mean your reputation falls too.I still can;t believe my own employer told me to play games for 90% of my time and do my job for the remaining 10%... go figure!
All i can offer is my experience in this. For context i've been a CIO, CISO and CEO of various companies. I sit on a couple of boards and am a Partner in a large organisation. I too am from a technical background and I am also a human who can't be gassed playing politics.
I can see why you are frustrated and also am sympathetic to your stand, which is a stand, based on your own ethics. That is something you should not ever feel you are compromising - integrity, trust and ethics are all things that people see and remember. Snivelling, glory hunters with no gag reflex also will, over time, be outed. I have seen this happen in many instances. Subtle changes in management, ownership and culture could tip the boat in your direction. I also strongly believe in Karma and treating people the way you wish to be treated. A job is just that - being passionate, dedicated and available can be abused so you need to get some strategies to make this work in your favour. I hate the corporate bull and also detest large organisations - what I do like is a challenge and interesting work. I've built two companies from zero and sold both as I am a capitalist pig 😆 so I look at things from two aspects - one is what does this mean for me in terms of my life and my enjoyment, second is what can I do to influence and motivate others. All sounds a bit Stephen Covey but I quite enjoy the process.
All I can say is stick to your ethics, where possible try and put the anger and resentment aside and seek to understand what values are measured. One day the people you make look good will fall on their arse and you will be in the box seat. Once you are there you can do what you want, i do.
You have barely mentioned those who work for you and, by your own admission, are being flogged as well.
If you do nothing else, MTFU and present a well-structured case to management on why you need more resources / time / money and what you need and what returns it will have for the company. They are people too, you have a responsibility to them. They may well be on another cycling forum telling other forumites that their boss is wallowing in a small puddle of self-pity and not standing his ground.
It might help with some of the other issues as well. Don't just manage, lead a bit as well.
NZCol has it spot on.
I obviously just need to get better at stuff which will no doubt progress my career but I'll just have to hate myself that little bit more.
That's what they said at first....
I'd rather see my family smile than look smugly at the peasants from my shiny piece of overpriced German engineering
^This^ shows that you have your priorities right in life and therefore I'd say you have little to worry about. Having worked with you in the past I probably know some of the people you are talking about and I know who I'd sooner go for a pint with.
It's the reality of corporate life... <snip/>
IME, small companies have a lot less of this stuff, much harder to play games and hide from doing real work, more of a family feel (and no all-day meetings!)
Downside is that in a small company you are at the boss's beck and call, if you've got a good boss that's not a problem, if he's a tosser you're in trouble.
Personally I was in the same boat as you Samuri all last year - stupid hours, impossible targets, horrendous stress.. thank god I've changed clients this year! I'm now looking for a much more technical job with less corporate crap, and would suggest you do the same. Short term, though, you need to stand up for your team and get some realistic deadlines in place - the odd all-nighter can be a perverse sort of fun, but regularly working 50+ hour weeks just isn't worth it.
Agree, I started to actively put measurements into our performance metrics that disincentivised those that like to do 70 hour weeks every week. I mean, it's not healthy for anyone. So I measure output, not input. It's been a struggle to get the firm to support it but we've got +25% growth year on year and a very happy team. What it does though is drive out people who are lazy cn....not quite as motivated 😆 But it does this through peer pressure and not by me beating the carp into them with a big stick. **** me, I AM stephen covey amn't I ? Worrying.
Great stuff guys. I'm already on the resource stuff, took a stand a couple of weeks back and told my boss that the reason I'm not delivering some stuff (that his other reports were complaining about) was down to lack of sufficient resource. he was supportive but typically, just told me to get it sorted, the resistance comes from his practise manager who is watching his budget. i'll keep the pressure up there.
Just for info (and thanks Druid), this is a FTSE100 company we're talking about which is one reason why I want to tough it out. If I can come away from here with a good track record, I can find a move to a smaller, happier company quite easily, I don't expect to get on the board here.
Some of my peers are OK, but I wouldn't trust half of them in the slightest and I don't understand how a couple of them manage to get dressed in the morning.
I'll try some of the reading you've suggested, see if it makes me feel better/change the way I do things without compromising anything.
Many thanks.
And on a slightly related note.
I've just gone to get a coffee where I bumped into our MD who is a keen cyclist. He got telling me about a ride he did at the weekend which ended up with us laughing together and him patting me on the shoulder.
Over his shoulder I could see some of the guys I've been talking about staring at us slack jawed.
/Nelson
HAW HAW!
That's perked my day up. 😉
Awesome!
Time to organise a ride with the big boss then 😉
I'd rather see my family smile than look smugly at the peasants from my shiny piece of overpriced German engineering
The two aren't mutually exclusive you know.
now don't you be ruining my illusions. I like to think of the other guys families dressed in rags watching them drive off to work in their flash cars before heading off themselves to the local tip to scavange for the days food.
What did I do?samuri - Member
Just for info (and thanks Druid)
Time to organise a ride with the big boss then
This sounds like a winner...at the very least, you get a bike ride, it's all good!
What ever else happens Samuri I think this is a really good thread and I suspect there are a lot of lurkers in a very similar position who will also benefit from the advice of people like NZCol.
Another suggestion from me - find a mentor, maybe even find time to talk this through with the MD and ask for advice, most people really really like to be asked for advice and will freely give it, this only works if you actually respect the person you are asking though.
I'd rather see my family smile than look smugly at the peasants from my shiny piece of overpriced German engineering
I try not to make eye contact.
I worked in IBM and that doesn't ring true. Like many large corporates, IBM valued technical ability and rewarded it very highly.
I think he meant research done *BY* IBM.
It is very depressing when management don't understand what makes a good and happy workforce. I think NZCol should start a company in the UK and employ some of us.
read the 4 hour work week. leverage yourself out of your company. ride your bike more.
I've just gone to get a coffee where I bumped into our MD who is a keen cyclist. He got telling me about a ride he did at the weekend which ended up with us laughing together and him patting me on the shoulder.
And there you see, even in business everyone is still a human and the best connection you can make is at that basic level. The work/business bit is the 10% at the end. The majority of my best clients are people I have a good relationship with - that means I can be honest with them, we trust each other and then know that I am genuinely interested in making them a success. Of course there are some twunts as well, people I have no connection with but I deal with them on a more transactional basis, sometimes you just won't ever connect with someone. I've found that those types are often insecure and need some major loving to get them engaged, cause and effect. There is always a reason for human actions and it can be quite fun just ignoring negative speech and thinking and trying to be normal with them.
And no thanks for the business suggestion - I've done my dash in that respect, I'm on the highway to retirement from my current career hopefully out by 40 which would be lovely.
Is punching someone in the face not an option.
the world would be a better place without them