Rising Star
Related Posts
Any thoughts on Doner in LA?
Is it typical for Senior to say “control Staff?"
Any leads on recruiters in Tokyo?
Additional Posts in The Worklife Bowl
Chief
Anonymous User
Chief
Pro
work during quarantine: month 5
Favorite news channel?
Chief
Pro
Pro
Chief
Visual Storyteller
WEAR A MASK!!!!!!
Books recommendations during this time?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Rising Star
Be careful how you phrase it. Certainly anything that impacts your work is worth noting. When you ask for things from her, is it in a formal communication, like an email? Have you let her know the time line the information is needed? Is there a way to let your boss know that you are waiting for input from this person so you can complete your task.
Maybe a positive spin would be to ask your boss for other tasks while you are waiting on "susie" so you can be more productive.
How is she taking credit for work others do and is it your work or someone else's. The particulars would impact how I might handle it.
Rising Star
Whenever I communicate with her it’s either via email or a meeting invite. Often the invites are declined or pushed back at the last minute. Whenever I send an email, even for a simple request, they want to meet to discuss it and then are never available to meet despite a pretty open calendar.
I do try to mention it casually with my boss that I reached out and am waiting on a response. I try not to make it look like I’m blaming her. It’s a careful situation to navigate politically.
On taking credit for work. She will straight up claim she did things that others did. It’s pretty bold!
Send all of those questions and requests as emails, put in the importance also. If they continue to be unresponsive I would talk to the person first. If it continues start to include your boss as a CC on the emails. They can then see how long it takes to get a reply.
Rising Star
I may have so start CCing our boss on things. My boss is pretty hands off so sometimes can be a it off putting but when it’s important to get done it’s a necessary evil.
Do you have 1:1 meetings?
Definitely being up the blockers as they happen. Not as a gotcha, but as a legitimate record and attempt to get what you need in a timely manner.
Your 1:1 meetings should be with the person you report to (your boss). If this middle manager cannot hire or fire, then they cannot invest resources in your growth. Being delegated to someone who is not your boss, suggests you are not being set up for success.
You need to be speaking to your hiring manager regularly, not just when the big stuff happens. And, then, you can bring things like this up casually, without overstating the problem.
Rising Star
Tread lightly. The fact that this person is highly regarded makes this a political capital play, not just a big picture.
Also, does this person slow you down or are they just not working on your timeline. Some of us who aren’t neurotypical get everything done but it might not be how others would do it.
Rising Star
You didn’t answer the question.
I get that they slow you down. Do they impact the different time bound schedules. I have something I have to have done by tomorrow. Whether someone is getting antsy because they haven’t seen something by today or yesterday even though it saves them time is irrelevant.
I would definitely take pictures of each of your work turn it in after she trys to take credit for it
Tricky situation! Perhaps her being so highly regarded by leaders trumps that she is slow to respond etc. You could end up looking jealous. Very good question OP, and will be interested to read the replies too
Rising Star
That’s the balance I try to achieve and don’t want to come off like I’m jealous or throwing her under the bus.
Rising Star
If you have any Slack channels seen by a group, preemptively congratulate others on completed tasks you think she will take credit for, or even after the fact. I assume you are not the only one this happens to, obviously don't praise yourself. Ditto for work she is a bottleneck, it sound like it impact more than you.
I would send an email request for data which includes a timeline. When it does not come within that time, send a FU email, which includes the original and any response ( including meeting requests that didn't happen) and CC your boss.
If these are recurring reports state in order for us to process X, by Y we need your input by Z.
You might also print out all your emails, calendar events, etc, get the same from everyine impacted and schedule a meeting with your boss. The meeting should be a problem solving not blame one. You don't really know what else is on her plate she has to get done. So the question is, how can we streamline this process so we can all be more efficient. You approach to your boss should be I know she is busy, so how can we..... It's your bosses job to determine, no she's not too busy to be doing this in a timely manner. Not yours.
Love that Slack idea!