Re: need suggestions on handling a boss

[Tony Chung <tonyc -at- tonychung -dot- ca>]

It's late, but if I were in your predicament, I would not put up with
your boss' response. If your boss is stopping you from conducting the
research you need to prepare for meetings and complete the job, then
she is not thinking if the conpany's best interests.

Early this year I was chastised by a colleague who said that my
problem was that I ha o understand what I was writing. Hello? if I
don't understand it, how would anyone who reads it understand it
either?

I you have time, I'd review your work to see what questions you didn't
understand. Then I'd track down the subject matter experts and get the
answers to those specific questions.

You didn't say how long you've been working there. Your boss is
lauding her higher degree of technical understanding over you. If
you're new, you may need time to ramp up on your domain knowledge.
Your role is to improve the company's documentation. If your boss was
a company player, she would understand that your doing whatever it
took ti get the job done would make her look good.

-Tony



On 2011-12-06, at 5:49 PM, Kari Gulbrandsen <kkgulbrandsen -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I have a sticky situation, and I don't know how to handle it. I get along
> well with my boss, except when it comes to work deliverables. I never seem
> to be able to do what it is she wants. Half the time, I don't think I have
> enough information to do what it is she wants me to do.
>
> For example, today I was to write procedures for a process that I didn't
> really know except for one meeting that I attended. She said that I left
> out half the stuff that we talked about in the meeting, but she didn't tell
> me what it was that I left out, but that I was to give her another draft by
> tomorrow morning. She doesn't want me to talk to the people who do the
> process, because she doesn't want me to bother them -- they're busy. When I
> ask her questions about it, she told me to put in what I knew and she would
> fill in the gaps.
>
> Of course, I wasn't given the material to prep for the meeting, so a lot of
> what they talked about in the meeting went over my head.
>
> I have tried talking to her about this before, and she told me that I was
> argumentative. Or she just freaks out and then tells me to come to her if I
> have questions, that she knows the process. Well, she is so busy, that I
> can't get her to sit down with me. I mean, if she has to sit with me and go
> over it, she might as well write them herself.
>
> So now I have this major deliverable for tomorrow morning, and I don't know
> what or how I am supposed to put it together.
>
> I have written a lot of procedure docs before, but I always sat down with
> the person, or went through the steps to do it on my own. I feel like I am
> having to write it with being deaf and blind.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Kari.
>
> --
> Kari Kristine Gulbrandsen
> Reflective Editing | Enlightening Sciences
> http://ladykchronicles.blogspot.com/
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