mxleader on 26/7/2014 at 05:28
I recently did something at work that I thought was helpful and was read the riot act for stepping outside of my job description. It was as simple as emailing information that is available to all the people who get a report that is not in an easily readable format. So I solved the problem in 3 minutes with a formula and a pivot table. Yay I'm the hero ... but my boss was very upset.
I thought I was hired over my other coworkers because I am not afraid to tackle problems when I see them, and especially when I see nobody else is willing to step in. Apparently I was hired to be a sock puppet and now I feel like I need some Preparation-H. The worst part is I keep getting emails saying what a great idea I had and how much they appreciate my work and I have to tell them I won't be helpful anymore. Anybody else ever have this problem?
Muzman on 26/7/2014 at 05:45
Sounds like you made a tedious middle manager slightly less relevant by mistake, which was threatening. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Happens all the time.
Wait and see if it becomes a problem before losing any sleep.
SubJeff on 26/7/2014 at 06:36
It would be nice if you could ask this idiot why he was annoyed.
Sadly idiots like this cannot be reasoned with. It would be great if their boss found out about this whole thing though.
Caradavin on 26/7/2014 at 07:54
There's not much you can do. If you wish to stay there, then you will have to swallow it all. Don't do the passive aggressive thing either, because that will just make things worse, trust me on that. Just tell those who praised you thank you and do your best not to step on any toes again. One suggestion is if you still want to do things like that, check with the boss before distributing it so that he/she can give input and will feel less threatened. I know it sucks, but you gotta play the game, you know?
I was working at one place where I was way over-qualified and took a test to move up in positions and was informed that I was not key material for the job because I was too innovative. They wanted someone who wouldn't try out new ideas and would just follow verbatim instructions. I was later fired for doing a better job than my boss (of course, that's not what they said but it was clear). I had another job before that one where I was a secretary and was told I had to bow down to the receptionist who had been there for 25 years because she couldn't handle that I had more "power" than her. I hated that job - I seriously had to run around and do whatever the receptionist wanted while also taking care of my more important secretarial tasks. I hate office politics. It's one of the reasons I can't even hold a job. I just don't play well. I'm more the "shove it up your ass" type.:thumb:
Al_B on 26/7/2014 at 09:46
I'm going to play devil's advocate and say that your boss was right to be upset. It sounds like what you did was great and has been appreciated by others in the company but there can be legitimate reasons that you should run it past your boss first before emailing everyone.
The change will need documenting and support somewhere. Depending on how involved it is or how the company is set up that might be very simple or it might involve quite a lot of work. There's also the danger that you have now made a rod for your own back by being contacted directly for every little tweak that people need to the report from now on. One of the roles your boss has is to be your "company firewall" - to allow you to work efficiently and in an environment where you're not being constantly distracted. You've essentially breached that and it may make their job harder in future.
Of course, all this depends on the size and culture of the company you're in and only you can judge that. At least you've shown that you have initiative and hopefully when the initial annoyance blows over your boss can appreciate what you've done.
nobodyinparticular on 26/7/2014 at 10:51
Let Dr Phil soothe you with some sage advice for your predicament.
Inline Image:
http://www.popnewsnow.com/images/drphil.gif"I want you to start living as a gay woman and I want you to start having a gay relationship."
Kolya on 26/7/2014 at 11:06
Try asking your boss for the reasons that reports are distributed in that less readable format. There might be a legitimate reason that you simply didn't know.
Nicker on 26/7/2014 at 15:11
This was an emotional response by your boss. If he won't respond to rational approaches, try convincing him that you were inspired by his courageous and insightful example.
Or just go straight to that and skip the rational stuff.
ZylonBane on 26/7/2014 at 15:39
Quote Posted by Caradavin
I hate office politics. It's one of the reasons I can't even hold a job. I just don't play well.
Find a job where you're so valuable to the organization that you don't have to play politics.
faetal on 26/7/2014 at 23:21
That's technically a good idea ZB, but jobs like that aren't easy to come by.
Sounds to me like the manager was being insecure because he doesn't know how to do what you did. Question - did you show it to him first before sending it out? Because if not, it may have come across like you wanted to show him up. Seeing if he thought it was a good idea first would have allowed him to continue feeling like a link in the chain.
