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^^^ I disagree. The whole purpose of this company policy is to speak freely. The VP is relying on crucial input from employees (which in my opinion is highly commendable from a business standpoint) as more than likely he and his executive staff don't see the day to day minutiae and only the overall picture and the figures.
The way in which you speak freely and the words you use is key. Rather than the, "he does this and he does that" condemnatory approach, couch it in terms of, "it would be really helpful if he would ..." , etc.
I don't totally agree with this- although it would be great IF this were the reason for it, a person can't always be sure that it really is the reason. Sometimes, they want to find out who is complaining about what in order to weed them out, and find someone who is willing to be a non-complaining, compliant 'yes' man, especially if those brutal extra hours and false deadlines (according to the OP) are making a profit for the company. There is nothing to be gained by trying to mediate the situation, when they could just put someone else in who could do the job, and not say a word or complain about anything. The worst part is, maybe the VP really is concerned, and the reasons you state, are the true reasons behind it. But again...maybe not. The nastiest part, is not knowing for sure, and maybe jeopardizing your job in the process. The bottom line for any company, is making money. Everything else is pretty much secondary.
If the company is legit in the purpose of this lunch (other employees ought to have some idea), I'd be inclined to use the opportunity but with extreme caution. I'd phrase everything as a question. Instead of saying, "My boss never gives me any feedback," I'd ask, "Is there some policy within the company on feedback? How much do you give your employees?" Once s/he answers those questions, my guess is s/he will ask you, "What kind of feedback do you get?" And you can answer, "None."
I agree with this.
I'd also frame it as "How do I work with this?" versus "How do I have my boss stop doing this?" If you're willing to change the way you work with the boss, you're more likely to engender sympathy.
You know best, though. Does this seem like some stupid program that HR dreamed up that the VP doesn't care about? Or does he seem like a genuine guy who's actually willing to give you advice?
Don't expect anything you say to remain a secret, though.
I don't totally agree with this- although it would be great IF this were the reason for it, a person can't always be sure that it really is the reason. Sometimes, they want to find out who is complaining about what in order to weed them out, and find someone who is willing to be a non-complaining, compliant 'yes' man, especially if those brutal extra hours and false deadlines (according to the OP) are making a profit for the company. There is nothing to be gained by trying to mediate the situation, when they could just put someone else in who could do the job, and not say a word or complain about anything. The worst part is, maybe the VP really is concerned, and the reasons you state, are the true reasons behind it. But again...maybe not. The nastiest part, is not knowing for sure, and maybe jeopardizing your job in the process. The bottom line for any company, is making money. Everything else is pretty much secondary.
That's why I stressed that the way in which the shortcomings are delivered during the conversation is so important. It sounds as though the OP has had a very good relationship with this VP so far where business is concerned so hopefully the result will be positive.
I think the suggestions to make sure anything I say isn't in the form of a complaint is good advice.
One thing I would like is another raise, so maybe I can use the extra hours as a way to ask for a raise, instead of complaining about the hours. For example, I could say to the VP:
"So, VP, my project has been extremely busy the last few months. I've been working a lot of long nights and weekends, and I am perfectly willing to put in the extra time to help the team meet its deadlines. I know that I already received a raise in May, but because of all the extra hours, I still feel like I am underpaid. In addition, quite a few people on the project can tell you that I have helped the team tremendously fixing critical problems - many times not even related to my own work - I have fixed problems with third-party software and even my co-worker's code. So I believe that an increase in salary can be justified by my performance."
How does that sound? I am doubtful that I will get another raise, but perhaps the VP will get the hint that I am working too many hours and he'll be able to do something about it.
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