Pet Peeve that is driving me nuts!
This is not the post I had hoped for today. I’m sorry but Monday’s will be great!
Everyone has pet peeves, yes, yes they do! This happened to me this morning at 5:00am. Yes, I work early in the morning, it sounds crazy but I like it but not when Imerika keeps me up late the night before (that’s another story).
I was already late for work which was fine because I’m rarely late. This also means I did not have coffee this morning, which means watch out!
Last Friday, I took on a tedious six hour project. I completed it one hundred percent to the specifications. During the process, I had my boss come over multiple times to check the project and make sure that it was being completed correctly. The boss agreed I was doing it correctly the entire time.
Fast forward to today. The boss comes over to me today and says I did the project completely wrong. I saved all the paperwork and showed the boss. The boss said “I never said you did this correctly or approved your work” and denied everything. Now I’m stuck today redoing some of this project to a deviation the boss NEVER told me about.
The boss has done this a few times now.
1st instance: It’s ok, maybe the boss is embarrassed.
2nd instance: Ok, maybe the boss is genuinely not that great, but I’ll let this one slide.
3rd instance: Today’s incident. Idiot confirmed. This is why companies fail.
So, my blog friends. How would you approach the situation if it happens again?
Next post will be Monday, “A night out with the gay guys.”
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Betterment of Man 
Story of my life. You just described EVERY project I’ve worked on at this company. And I’m a project manager, so the number of times this has happened is far to great to count. I wish I had an answer!
I would suck it up, cuss him out in my head, remind myself that this is just temporary and definitely not part of my career and remember that you get to spend the weekend with me : )
Talk to his supervisor (if he has one)… or tell him it’d be really helpful if he pointed these out sooner, since he’s monitoring things… All tactfully of course.
I had a manager who was suck-tastic and I kept saving his butt… but at the cost of my mental and emotional health. So I ended up quitting. After I left other supervisors started noticing his poor managerial choices/abilities.
… or there’s always Erika’s option. 🙂
You know even my boss’ supervisor is not that great. It’s like talking to an empty body. The worst part is that they’re friends.
Sorry to hear that. Your boss sounds like a moron. Way to shirk responsibility. He’s probably also the type to take all the credit for all the hard work you did. I guess there’s nothing you can do about it, besides transferring to a different department or quitting your job altogether. Maybe schedule a meeting with him about expectations and clear communication. Good luck!
Honestly? I would get him to check some drafts and sign for them. Or have someone there to confirm that he actually approved the way you were doing things. Never converse about things like this in person, do it over email so you always have record of what’s being said. That way you can tell him that he’s wrong and he told you to do it in this certain way.
Basically, set up a trap and wait for him to catch the lure!
xx
Susie, I like your thinking. Set up a trap.. I’m good at that.
I’m in agreement with Susie Q….email is the best form not being sh*t on! x
E-mail is the non-confrontational way to go. But, if you really want him to take you seriously, I would do a face-to-face. However, I think more clearly when I express myself via writing, so yeah, I’d probably hide behind the e-mail…then wait nervously for a reply!
Memo
To: Better Mento Fman
Re: Your boss
There are machines that have been built to solve this problem. They are called “wood chippers”, and can be rented from Hertz’ commercial division.
Perhaps your boss is missing a screw… or seven? I agree with having a “witness” around the next time you ask him to check on your work, so that someone else can back you up when it goes south. Preferably it should be someone who will go out on a limb to back you up, not just sit quietly and then bitch with you when he is gone. Also, it should be someone senior to him, if that’s possible without being too suspicious.
Or maybe he just has it out for you? In which case, I would document everything over email. Which is not to say I would revert all communication to email. Still have him check your work and provide verbal feedback. Then follow it up with an email. Something along the lines of, “just to clarify, we discussed I would do X and you wanted it done [reiterate his detailed instructions here]”.
I also really like the wood chipper idea…
I would have the boss start monitoring and approving your work via email, or signing off on it manually. Ask him via email (so it’s documented) if he would help you out by monitoring your progress. At least if he declines you’ll have it in writing and if the situation becomes bigger you can go above him and put in a formal complaint. I’d also involve yourself with the higher-ups and co-workers so that they know you’re doing your best to be involved and do a good job.
…and next time I’ll read the other comments first, and save my breath 🙂 lol