Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What the OP describes is a common generational issue these days. Millenials are used to a "collaborative" environment with tons of flexibility and input. Boomers and Gen X are accustomed to a top-down environment and lots of structure. Not every workplace can be Google, but more of them are trying to be. OP, it sounds like you've landed in a place that isn't. I'd stick it out for a year (to avoid looking like a job-hopper) and then try to land a job somewhere else.
I would say Gen Xers and Boomers can't be lumped together. Xers are only a couple years from being Gen Y'ers ( being one of them 79') and the google approach is more of what most of my peers are use to than the boomer approach.
So, I've been in a job for about five months now, and slowly but surely I am starting to see the true colors of my boss.
It's a small organization I work for, so when I came in I guess I pictured us working as a team, being open and honest and tossing out ideas, advancing the program and doing what it takes to succeed.
Instead, I have found out by this point that my boss:
-Wants everything to stay in the same routine it has always been
-Wants an employee who will simply do what he says without questioning anything or offering up better ideas as alternatives.
-Is a major micro-manager.
-Wants an employee who will lie to make his boss feel better even if the glaring truth says otherwise.
-Wants someone who can read his mind. ie. "Get those forms finished sometime this week." Means if you haven't done them by Wednesday morning you get a lecture because he told you they needed to be done Monday (even though he really didn't.)
etc. etc.
I know this is like most bosses out there, but I seriously was not expecting this working for a small nonprofit fundraising operation. I thought it would be more team-oriented since there is only about five of us employees.
I'm in a real predicament here, because I have never before been a person that lets other people walk all over me like this.
I started out by being honest and open, defending myself and my ideas when I think I'm right, etc. But that quickly brought the organization crashing down on me, because I don't think he has been used to anyone questioning him or his ideas, or tossing out ideas of their own.
So what should I do? If I just shut up and pretend that every idea is great and never question anything, it makes me feel so cheap and fake, and it's also bad for the organization. If I come up with new ideas, or give honest opinions about his ideas, he just goes berserk and gets all offended, and claims that I don't really want to be part of the team. It makes for an extremely awkward work environment.
i'm a kiss ass slacker so this boss would be perfect for me. in your case, i would leave the job if it doesn't fit your personality. the job isn't going to change for you (the job meaning your boss). or if you are so confident, open your own firm or company and do the work yourself and hire others. be warned though. THEY may challenge you and dethrone you ; )
I understand and appreciate what you guys are saying, however I forgot to mention that in the job description when I was interviewing for the job, it described the position as a "self-starter" and "capable of coming up with new ideas and putting them into action."
My boss repeatedly said at the beginning, "You don't always have to wait for me to tell you to do something - you can take some action."
Then as soon as I do, it's usually something along the lines of "No, we're not going to do that because we've always done it this other way, etc."
Then I'll usually respond with something like, "Oh OK, I thought this might be a good idea because bla bla bla. It seems like it would increase our fundraising from this area?"
To which he usually responds with something like, "So, are you enjoying your job? Do you really want to be here and be part of this team? Because it seems like you have a bad attitude about this stuff."
Which really takes me by surprise.
I know exactly where you are coming from because I quit a job after 3 months trying to deal with a person that sounds like your boss. It also was a small office of 10 people. The person who was a nightmare wasn't even the boss, but thought she was and literally ran rough shod over people. Others before me left the job for the same reason, one only lasted a week. Another woman started the same day as me and ended up quitting 2 months after me. You could not do anything right, even if you shut up and did what they asked. If you even asked a question, not challenging her at all, she'd be all over you and call you in. I've worked in the corporate world for 40 years and new people were pretty much coddled the first month or so until they got the hang of how things worked. I can get along with almost anyone and have had demanding bosses and I had no problem, but his person did everything she could to squash you like a bug.
It doesn't sound to me like you're overly assertive, pushy or whatever. The boss sounds like he does not like change in any way. So you really only have 2 options, stay there and just do as they say or move on. I chose to move on.
there appear to be a few different issues going on here. 1 - u should always show respect to you boss. if you dont others will assume youre the problem and the troublemaker. thats why the company and other colleagues have come down on you. sometimes u have to just smile and nod in front of everyone and if its a real issue schedule a private meeting with you boss and ensure that whats discussed stays between the two of you 2. its not what you say but how you say it. you have to learn to adjust your communication style for each person that you deal with. most boss want to know that youve done the assigned and routine tasks. upon completion and review then u should through in some suggestions. i.e. - "boss just want to let you know ive completed xyz. during the process i realized that it may be more efficient if we including/ did ABC..." if your boss disagrees ask why or another thing you could do is mutually set your yearly quarterly goals and include a few points for improvement projects. 3. - u need to realize youre not the boss. sometime u just have to do what youre told no questions ask. 4. - have had a micromanager before. try to clarify deadlines and objectives. remind your boss of the deadlines and objectives u set and assure him that everything is on track 5. - accept that this just may not be the work environment/ appropriate culture for you. cut your losses and move on.
Sounds like the typical ****head micromanager that's so common in the work world. I don't think that this person will ever change and I would probably consider that they lied on the job description about wanting a self-starter. Employers lie all the time about jobs and this is a good example. The only thing to do is look for something else; many employers are crappy to work for!
Well I would say your current approach isn't working. And honestly, I would be irked if a 5 month employee started acting like they knew what was best too. We had a manager like that once, he came into a great office pretty much fresh out of college. He had been with the company for less than a year and had all these great ideas he'd learned in school. We hated him because he was convinced his ideas were right and would not listen to the information we gave him, even though we'd been with the company for years and were also from the area. Our customers hated him and some refused to deal with him. He still wouldn't listen and continued with the attitude that all of the rest of us just couldn't understand the brilliance that was him. He turned our small office from a place we loved going to to a place we dreaded.
What he should have done was gone in for a year and just sat back and watched and learned. He should have earned our respect before he tried to completely change the entire office. So I recommend you sit back and try to see things from your employers perspective. Take time to earn some respect, by doing a good job, not by having the great ideas. Once you prove your competent then you can start slowly introducing new thoughts.
I agree.
I am in a somewhat odd position at work, as I was hired to overhaul, repair, and generally make ok again, the filing system. I am the main one who deals with the files, although making them complete did require me to ask for things from others and the recruiters that they were not used to doing. I did it by stating what I needed but allowing them to get it from their candidates in any way that they wanted. It works because i Have kept my nose out f the things that others do and the way they do it, even when I know the answer or a way to find the answer.
As for doing thigns the way they have always been done, if it works for the boss then there is no reason to try to fix it. I take the longer way to work, by about 5 minutes. Because EVERY time I go the shorter way, there is an accident. Every. Darn. Time. Now, if I started going this way every day, I am guessing there would not be an accident every day. But in my mind, there will be an accident and taking that way annoys me. So I go the other way to save myself the general irritation of expecting an accident. Is it longer? Yes. Is it stupid to go the longer way? probably. Does it make me happy to go the long way? Yes. So, while my system may not be the best, it makes me 100 times happier than the other options.
Also, just because there is another way of doing somthing that is not being used does NOT mean it has never been tried.
I understand and appreciate what you guys are saying, however I forgot to mention that in the job description when I was interviewing for the job, it described the position as a "self-starter" and "capable of coming up with new ideas and putting them into action."
My boss repeatedly said at the beginning, "You don't always have to wait for me to tell you to do something - you can take some action."
Then as soon as I do, it's usually something along the lines of "No, we're not going to do that because we've always done it this other way, etc."
Then I'll usually respond with something like, "Oh OK, I thought this might be a good idea because bla bla bla. It seems like it would increase our fundraising from this area?"
To which he usually responds with something like, "So, are you enjoying your job? Do you really want to be here and be part of this team? Because it seems like you have a bad attitude about this stuff."
Which really takes me by surprise.
How do you not see the problem?
You take action. He does not like what you have done. Instead of respecting that as he is the boss, you argue with him and try to tell him why you are right when you have already been told something does not work.
The man is your boss. Arguing with him is giving him the impression you do not like the job.
You tried a different approach, he did not like it, DONE.
In that case, I'd try something like, "Hey boss, this is what I plan on doing today (or this week). Is this good or is there something else you want me to work on?" I've worked for a few bosses that I was at odds with, but in the end it was my job to give them what they wanted, which may involve just going with the flow. While your ideas may be better, you are not the boss and your boss views a team player as someone who does what he says and doesn't rock the boat. Don't put yourself in a position in which your boss tells a potential employer that you are always rocking the boat and aren't a team player.
I am not disagreeing with the part in bold, I just want OP to think about an idea this raises. OP's ideas are better...for OP. They are not better for the boss. The boss is in charge and, while irritatiing, this makes the ideas not actually better. Also, the boss has to contend with other things OP likely has no idea about...possibly the reason the new things OP wants to do are being shot down because they caused an issue 2 years ago when they were tried...OP hasn't been there long enough to know this kind of stuff...
Which action would that be? Being a self-starter and coming up with my own ideas? Or not coming up with anything I do and letting him herd me like a sheep? Because I've tried both, and either way, I can do no right.
So please elaborate on your wise and thoughtful response.
You were told to be a self starter and to come up with your own ideas.
Where in the job description did it say "argue with boss like there is no tomorrow when he does not like my ideas"
As for being a sheep...until you own your own business, to take your analogy to the fullest, you ARE the sheep and your boss the shepherd. It IS your job to go in the direction your boss tells you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
