At my last company, I went through three managers in the 3 years I was there. The last guy in there, I was comfortable enough in my position to make a statement. At the time, I was getting into the office around 10 and leaving at 3 or 4, basically whenever I felt like it.
The first few days, I stayed until a couple minutes after he left, to let him know I supported him. Then one day, I walked out with him. He looked at me and said, "but you got in at 10." I looked right back at him and said, "I know. I stayed late the last few days in case you needed me." Then it was back to old habits.
He was going to need all the help he could get to manage the political situation. In the end he couldn't cut the knot, he left not long after I did.
Something about this comment really unsettles me. I can’t tell if it’s thinking that what was a “statement”, if it’s the underlying attempt at some lame kind of power play on a new member of your team or if it’s something else entirely.
What I'm reading in it is that the poster is a lot more comfortable in their position than the manager, knowing the manager is under a lot more stress and pressure than the poster themselves. After you've seen a few managers start and leave you kinda get the picture.
More or less. It wasn't intended to be malicious. I made it known I was there to support him in his Herculean task of moving the needle with his department with this wholly intransigent political environment. But I'd already spent some 2 1/2 years building up goodwill and clout in the company and there wasn't going to be any bowing and scraping.
Any ideas he had were welcomed but at the end of the day, they were going to throw it all out anyway. I was hoping they'd let me build the new platform, but they picked a consulting company to build them a Magento solution. To recognize my efforts, I got like a year and a half of half-salary to get on the phone if they ever needed me.
The first few days, I stayed until a couple minutes after he left, to let him know I supported him. Then one day, I walked out with him. He looked at me and said, "but you got in at 10." I looked right back at him and said, "I know. I stayed late the last few days in case you needed me." Then it was back to old habits.
He was going to need all the help he could get to manage the political situation. In the end he couldn't cut the knot, he left not long after I did.