Well, my patience ran out sooner than I ancicipated as I started diving into my new job the third morning there because it was the first time I had trial period access to the database I was hired to analyze and manage. Unfortunately, Dwight came to interrupt me when he got in and told me to stop doing my job so I could do his job his way. Since I was hired primarily because he has not been able to do what I was hired to do for a couple of years, he may see me as his assistant and not understand that he does not understand why I was hired, which is because he does not understand how to do what I was hired to do. His worst habit is to ramble on the way the babbler babbles. That is fine for glogging in a babbling blog like this, but it is innefficient and extremely counter-productive in most work settings.
After listening to him repeat his list of tasks for me to do for the fourth time (the list he gave me when I arrived, the same task has been sitting next to me repeating for the first two days I was there while I did not have the tools with which to do any work ... like a place to sit and work, a computer, a monitor, a phone, an email address, access to punch in on their online time clock, a pen or paper or single office supply, a list of the people {employees} I am supposed to interact with in order to get my job done {no less introductions}, the structure of the company I am supposed to help improve, and did I mention the database?), I asked him to let me get to working on what is asking for.
He repeated it again as if I was an idiot and said he does not think I understand what he wants which lead to a few exchanges about why I was hired to which he responding "you don't have to be snippy" and walked away. He returned later to tell me he would be out of the office for the day and probably following day and handed me another typed list of tasks. The friend, Tinman, let the boss, Michael, know and Michael asked me about Dwight so I let him know that Dwight talks way too much, rambles and repeats the simplest tasks over and over, does not stay on topic therein becoming more condusing than helpful, and is micromanaging to the point where I will not be able to accomplish what he (Michael) asked me to do. I added that the reason no one uses the contact manager database is Dwight teaches poorly and wastes a lot of time jumping around tasks rather than having a clear, concise, and well ordered (logical) instructions that make sense.
Michael said he would talk to Dwight. A bit later Michael called and said Dwight had complaints about me but he was not specific. I responded by pointing out that is exactly what I meant. He said Dwight is 50 years old and we are not going to chaange him. I said that's fine, just decide whether you wanted me to be Dwight's assistant and continue the unsuccessful approach he's taken for two years or whether you want me to do the job you hired me to do. Michael said we just had to get along and I should work with Dwight, but he said he did not want me to be his assistant. I said then Dwight needs to stop interrupting me, micromanaging me, and handing me lists of tasks that prevent me from doing what I was hired to do.
A bit later Dwight handed me another list of tasks he wanted me to do and I tossed the paper aside and continued working. He stood there trying to engage me in conversation for ten minutes and I asked him to stop interrupting and let me continue working several times before he finally nudged my hand off my mouse and said let me just show you what I want. I sat back and forty minutes later, after he repeated himself several times and wandered off on the many other tasks and completely undid where I was in my work with the database, I went to lunch.
After lunch I started over again.
Michael will get the nothing he wants out of me unless Dwight is told to stop. Michael is just so non-confrontative that it will take days or weeks for this to be clear, so I'll just hang out and let it play out because there is no fixing what is wrong with this small business since Dwight is what is wrong with it and Dwight is, according to michael, to be the Sales Manager in Michael's plan for growing the business. Everyone of the people Dwight would then be supervising have already told me that no one listens to Dwight because he just rambles on and it's been going on for years, so I guess I saw that for myself in my first few days. The dysfunction is worse than the TV show The Office.
Hopefully the HR person who asked for my references on Friday will call about Safety Officer position soon.
Not much time for more this week, later.
Narf. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment