[J&J13]

I’m trying to keep from venting, but am not sure what, if anything, to do in this situation. Still searching my copy of “Project Management for Dummies”; maybe some of you have had a sorta similar experienc and can offer some insight?


OK, given that dependable methods and routines, clear, concise instructions, and the KISS principle all help to get the job done right the first time, I make a step-by-step cheat sheet whenever I learn a new skill or task. Brings the techno-babble down to my level, so to speak. My buddies do this as well. We then compare notes on the job, cross-train, and make up an informal S.O.P.

Now, I’m not that naive. I know that this sort of thing is pure gravy for our bosses. It also pokes holes in the “Ignorance Cushion” that lower life-forms depend on, and bends a few of the barbed-wire fences that some experts build around their knowledge bases in hopes of keeping themselves secure. A matter of perspective? Maybe, but while we’re debating that, the job still hasn’t done itself, and my buds and I are directly accountable. CYA enters the picture.

So, the initial S.O.P. that we've developed then goes from our supervisors to the head shed for submission and approval. Good idea, in theory, because departments like Methods and Results have to check for procedural clash, technical accuracy, and such on the way up the ladder. As an added bonus, Accounting gets to play with the training budget, because we can obviously take care of ourselves. (Doh!)

Eventually, everything that we’ve put together in the trenches gets copied, word-for-word, into the organizational shared folder, with the appropriate signatures and letterheads. Right, now we can finally finish the job, because everyone knows that it isn’t really done until somebody gets the credit or blame. Guess who comes out smelling like a Rose? Uh-huh. The supervisors. “Attaboy; you’re such great team organizers and proactive foresight like yours shouldn’t go unnoticed in front of your subordinates; blah, blah, blah.” No problem, buzzards gotta eat, too.

But, after the first 3 times, we started to wonder if maybe the little voices were worth listening to, after all. Granted, there's no room for self-centered whiners in a team environment, but nobody wants to be a doormat, either.

Please advise as to where you’d draw the line, if need be. Is this common? How would you deal with this sort of thing, short of being happy to be employed in the first place? I’m not desperate, but I’d hate to end up doing something drastic like taking a day off once in a while.

Thanks

[ClydeG19]

Is your boss/es the type to remember how you made them look good when promotion or raise time comes around?

[J&J13]

No, not really. Last rating period I caught him digging through my desktop folders ("Significant Contributions", etc) to find bullets for his upcoming evaluation. Trying to be a good guy and wanting to keep things simple, I only had our IMO change privleges for network account access, then moved everything off my desktop to my flash drive/memory stick. Just try and hack that, buddy! (From my cold, dead hands...)
Guess I shoulda held it over his head, but I didn't want to be playing games or sinking to his level. In hindsight it looks like I've missed an opportunity, then, but I learned more about network security. (Bullet point for me!)