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First, I want to thank everyone here in advace for any and all advice on my very troubling situation.
I work for a small division of a large communications company. The division has about 150 employees and I am the IT manager. Since the company is owned by a large corporation, there are reporting requirements, ethics guidlines, corporate policies, etc.
I have been at the company for about 10 months now and things have been going very very badly. All through the interview process and up to my first day I felt very good about the decision to accept the position after having been the vicim of a reduction in force three months prior.
After starting, I found out the man that I supervise who is 10 years my senior had applied for my position and was turned down. The man who was in my position went to work for the consulting company that he had hired two years before. Everything in IT was a mess and I almost immediately took steps to remove the consulting company due to their past and current poor performance. After having done so I found out that this man was closely related to a top executive in the company...something which was never disclosed until after the fact. All during this time, the man I supervise has been nothing but trouble trying to undermine my authority, prevent me from doing my job properly (sabotage), etc. My managers and HR assured me they would support whatever direction I wanted to move in, but it has taken forever for them to take any action. I heard from another prior employee that they left because 'the place was mis-managed and too wierd for him'.
There are certain things I like about the job, but the issues above have been stressing me out to the point where I have anxiety attacks and am starting to go into a depression. There are also substance abuse issues there and upper management again acts like the problem doesn't exist.
I am not saying I am the smartest guy on the planet here, but most people can get a sense when someone is 'out to get them' even if the person doesn't say that is what they are up to. Often times, the managers will come in...purposely get close to me...invading my space...like they are trying to smell alcohol or something else on me.....I don't drink. They will give me strange looks and act very troubled in the way they speak and their demenor but what they are saying me be something personal or business related and have nothing to do with me or job performance. Otherwise, they gave me positive performance reviews and bonuses as well. Other employees have begun giving me the silent treatment now and some of the managers have become hostile constantly complaining about problems either to me or my director.
There is so much more...but I won't go into all that here. Now most recently I was tricked into admiting that I told a little white lie to a vendor and was told via email that this was an ethics violation but that the matter is 'considered closed'. My feeling is that I am the absolute last person at this company that should be accused of an ethics violation given all that I have observed and expereinced over the last 10 months.
For my own sanity, I feel that I need to get out as soon as possible. The problem of course is that the job market isn't what it used to be and I can't afford to resign without having some other source of income lined up. I went to the doctor last week and was given medication and told my employer that I will need off all of this coming week.
I am trying to line up another position but what shoudl I do about this in the interim? I can't resign and give up my unemployment and I don't want to try and get them to fire me due to damage to my professional reputation and job history.
This whole thing has had a horrible effect on my emotional well being over the past 10 months and I have found myself depressed, agitated, angry, etc. I have casually mentioned to my director that this arrangement may not be working out and he continually says 'I think that is premature' or 'I haven't heard any complaints' etc.
Any advice any of you could provide will be greatly apprecaited as I am really at a loss on what to do about this problem.
You are experiencing workplace mobbing. It will only get worse from there. They are cluing you into what they have in plan for you. Passive aggressive psychopaths give hints before they do real damage. I recommend that you watch a movie called The Wicker Man (1973). You will get an understanding of how group dysfunction works. Read these articles if you do not believe that it can happen.
First, I want to thank everyone here in advace for any and all advice on my very troubling situation.
I work for a small division of a large communications company. The division has about 150 employees and I am the IT manager. Since the company is owned by a large corporation, there are reporting requirements, ethics guidlines, corporate policies, etc.
I have been at the company for about 10 months now and things have been going very very badly. All through the interview process and up to my first day I felt very good about the decision to accept the position after having been the vicim of a reduction in force three months prior.
After starting, I found out the man that I supervise who is 10 years my senior had applied for my position and was turned down. The man who was in my position went to work for the consulting company that he had hired two years before. Everything in IT was a mess and I almost immediately took steps to remove the consulting company due to their past and current poor performance. After having done so I found out that this man was closely related to a top executive in the company...something which was never disclosed until after the fact. All during this time, the man I supervise has been nothing but trouble trying to undermine my authority, prevent me from doing my job properly (sabotage), etc. My managers and HR assured me they would support whatever direction I wanted to move in, but it has taken forever for them to take any action. I heard from another prior employee that they left because 'the place was mis-managed and too wierd for him'.
There are certain things I like about the job, but the issues above have been stressing me out to the point where I have anxiety attacks and am starting to go into a depression. There are also substance abuse issues there and upper management again acts like the problem doesn't exist.
I am not saying I am the smartest guy on the planet here, but most people can get a sense when someone is 'out to get them' even if the person doesn't say that is what they are up to. Often times, the managers will come in...purposely get close to me...invading my space...like they are trying to smell alcohol or something else on me.....I don't drink. They will give me strange looks and act very troubled in the way they speak and their demenor but what they are saying me be something personal or business related and have nothing to do with me or job performance. Otherwise, they gave me positive performance reviews and bonuses as well. Other employees have begun giving me the silent treatment now and some of the managers have become hostile constantly complaining about problems either to me or my director.
There is so much more...but I won't go into all that here. Now most recently I was tricked into admiting that I told a little white lie to a vendor and was told via email that this was an ethics violation but that the matter is 'considered closed'. My feeling is that I am the absolute last person at this company that should be accused of an ethics violation given all that I have observed and expereinced over the last 10 months.
For my own sanity, I feel that I need to get out as soon as possible. The problem of course is that the job market isn't what it used to be and I can't afford to resign without having some other source of income lined up. I went to the doctor last week and was given medication and told my employer that I will need off all of this coming week.
I am trying to line up another position but what shoudl I do about this in the interim? I can't resign and give up my unemployment and I don't want to try and get them to fire me due to damage to my professional reputation and job history.
This whole thing has had a horrible effect on my emotional well being over the past 10 months and I have found myself depressed, agitated, angry, etc. I have casually mentioned to my director that this arrangement may not be working out and he continually says 'I think that is premature' or 'I haven't heard any complaints' etc.
Any advice any of you could provide will be greatly apprecaited as I am really at a loss on what to do about this problem.
I see your point. However, since I was in similar situations in the past let me tell you:
1) You stepped in a viper pit without preparation. These situations are more common then you think and there are chances that your next position will also be in a snake pit. Therefore, learn how to deal with them.
2) It was a mistake to let the contractor go and make personal changes from the start. You are new and do not know all the circumstances. Next time you start with a new position in an already established environment take your time.
3) When you start with a new job (you are probably a perfectionist) things look very weird to an outsider. Your first impulse is to fix them asap, but this cannot be achieved without gaining first your coworkers trust. You cannot achieve much without their cooperation and help. Only later you can start making significant modifications and personnel changes.
4) Anxiety is absolutely unnecessary. The most they can do is fire you, so what's the big deal? They won't send you to the electric chair. The negative feelings you developed are very damaging to the department. You pick up on their negative vibes and amplify them and vice versa. Things may get out of hand very quickly, when in reality its all about perception and fear. From your description, the person that works with you, sees you as an immediate threat and is very worried about the outsider who came in to change everything and will eventually let him go. Looking from that perspective, why should he help you? Its your responsibility to change his perception. Let them feel you want to be part of them and are not a threat.
5) Top management are frequently liars and deceivers. They give you a false feeling that they back you all the way, when in reality they do not want to get involved and rely on you to do the dirty work. They simply prefer not to know about problems and if you make waves you become the problem. As with coworkers, you first have to gain their trust before they back you (if at all).
The very fact that you are in an anonymous message board posing this question and are looking for insight from strangers (I wonder how many here actually manage IT ) casts a bad light on your managerial capabilities.
A little about me - I became a project lead when I was 24. When I became a manager I was 26. Today I'm in a position where I'm professionally advising project managers in IT, finance and healthcare. So you know I'm not blowing smoke up your bum or being a douche. And the ones I deal with are in their 40s and 50s, and they generally don't like a young guy telling them how to do their job.
Management = politics + insurrection + insubordination + receiving end of the scapegoat train.
It's not a cake walk. What you are experiencing is the norm. It is not an exception. And it does not have to manifest itself in depression, anger, agitation and medication.
First step, reconfigure your personality. It's not "personal". Even if it is, one needs to tell himself that it's not personal.
Step two, don't take it into your house. This is hard, but otherwise you lose your personal life.
Step three, donot let it get to your head at work.
Step four, you need to work on a new job, where you can have a fresh and thumping start, and put things behind your back.
It's currently difficult to take control of your present situation, for it looks like the various stakeholders involved may be gunning for you.
Going forward, secure the friendship and confidence of those around you. The managers who rock are those who play their politics well and play it to the right extent.
This apart, I can sense some vital elements missing in the story in your original post.
Generally, when I was a project manager, the first thing I did was to learn the politics of the people around me. I basically plot for a month slating who I can throw my weight upon and who I cannot, and importantly, the people I need to secure on my side of the equation.
This was the atomphere coming in - I felt like I was making friends but by the very nature in IT things are changing so often times any change is perceived in a negative light. In a supervisors meeting about 2 months into the position everyone was praising my performance. I was expected to make immediate changes because things were let go for a very long time. The IT budget was completely upside down by 6 digits +
The expectations were set by management very early on and they were very eager for me to dig in and get things cleaned up ASAP. While I agree your approach is ideal in most situations, in this situation it is the exact opposite of what was communicated to be during the interview and orientation process as expected by the person filling this position. Also, there is constant pressure at the corporate level to make changes to comply with corporate policy some of which were issued more than a year prior to my arrival and never implemented.
The mobbing does make sense to me. I don't fit into their culture and that is clear but I am not there for a social club. I was hired to do a job and that is my first prioritythough it is important for the customers to be happy I don't know that it is possible if their desire is no change at all and changes must be made to comply with various policy and process improvements in other departments.
One really good example of the problem is a process for requesting support (a ticketing system). Instead the majority of users refuse to follow this policy and management does nothing to support. I go above an beyond to support the business often times assisting employees after hours and on weekends. I am not sure there is much more that can be done to improve customer relations and I never had this problem in previous positions.
The whole idea of asking someone on an anonymous forum is objectivity to the situation. Talking to a wife, friend, or family member isn't going to provide an objective opinion on the issue.
The expectations were set by management very early on and they were very eager for me to dig in and get things cleaned up ASAP. While I agree your approach is ideal in most situations, in this situation it is the exact opposite of what was communicated to be during the interview and orientation process as expected by the person filling this position. Also, there is constant pressure at the corporate level to make changes to comply with corporate policy some of which were issued more than a year prior to my arrival and never implemented.
You see, I didn't know that before, yet I wrote that before your post:
"Top management are frequently liars and deceivers. They give you a false feeling that they back you all the way, when in reality they do not want to get involved and rely on you to do the dirty work. They simply prefer not to know about problems and if you make waves you become the problem. As with coworkers, you first have to gain their trust before they back you (if at all)"
How did I know that? By being myself in similar positions in the past...It resulted in kicking me out of the job and passing the hot potato to the next innocent victim. The problems remained until the top guys were let go. In one case the company was acquired by another, who started everything from the beginning.
In any case, your health is more important then this company, who may not even be there tomorrow.
Another way to put pressure on middle tier mangers like you, is to make it feel as it is the end of the world. If the IT dep is not fixed by the next day... Armageddon. And if you are a weak person, you embrace this stupid mood and it results in what you describe.
You see, I didn't know that before, yet I wrote that before your post:
"Top management are frequently liars and deceivers. They give you a false feeling that they back you all the way, when in reality they do not want to get involved and rely on you to do the dirty work. They simply prefer not to know about problems and if you make waves you become the problem. As with coworkers, you first have to gain their trust before they back you (if at all)"
How did I know that? By being myself in similar positions in the past...It resulted in kicking me out of the job and passing the hot potato to the next innocent victim. The problems remained until the top guys were let go. In one case the company was acquired by another, who started everything from the beginning.
In any case, your health is more important then this company, who may not even be there tomorrow.
Another way to put pressure on middle tier mangers like you, is to make it feel as it is the end of the world. If the IT dep is not fixed by the next day... Armageddon. And if you are a weak person, you embrace this stupid mood and it results in what you describe.
Excellent advice. I see exactly what you are saying The part about management being replaced really lit a light bulb for me. That is the problem all the way down the line. The problem goes all the way to the top in my opinion. At least at the level of our division management.
If they aren't supporting I guess my only choice is to find something else. Now I guess how do I handle in the interim to keep myself from going insane? I can't afford to abruptly resign and eventually I will have to go back to the office here soon. I try to let it go in one ear and out the other but then I wind up taking it home with me.
If you step into a viper pit there really isn't any chance for survival if you stay in it. Vipers are neither rational or caring. Whether it is common or not is truly irrelevant. Car crashes are common. We can only do our best by driving the best cars, wearing our seat belts and driving with wisdom.
There are still some very good corporations out there. I keep hearing that Southwest Airlines and the container store are impressive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oberon_1
I see your point. However, since I was in similar situations in the past let me tell you:
1) You stepped in a viper pit without preparation. These situations are more common then you think and there are chances that your next position will also be in a snake pit. Therefore, learn how to deal with them.
And so you acknowledge the group dysfunction that exists there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oberon_1
You see, I didn't know that before, yet I wrote that before your post:
"Top management are frequently liars and deceivers. They give you a false feeling that they back you all the way, when in reality they do not want to get involved and rely on you to do the dirty work. They simply prefer not to know about problems and if you make waves you become the problem. As with coworkers, you first have to gain their trust before they back you (if at all)"
How did I know that? By being myself in similar positions in the past...It resulted in kicking me out of the job and passing the hot potato to the next innocent victim. The problems remained until the top guys were let go. In one case the company was acquired by another, who started everything from the beginning.
In any case, your health is more important then this company, who may not even be there tomorrow.
Another way to put pressure on middle tier mangers like you, is to make it feel as it is the end of the world. If the IT dep is not fixed by the next day... Armageddon. And if you are a weak person, you embrace this stupid mood and it results in what you describe.
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) casts a bad light on your managerial capabilities.
