Re: More advice

[lpraderio <lpraderi -at- CLIFF -dot- WHOI -dot- EDU>]

Paula,

I don't think your case is unusual in industry, and from my experience, in
academia.  What you have is what I have/had:  a lack of commitment from
management towards documentation.  Ubiquitous it would seem.

While I work in a free create-your-own hours/environment, I also had absolutely
no direction when I started and had to define my own, and my boss' in managing
me, and in where/how the documentation would develop.

What worked was that I demanded weekly 10-minute meetings-yes, it was a battle.
What I did was give my boss a, no more than, five-item agenda the afternoon
before a morning meeting, written in a problem/resolution format.  The meetings
were 10-15 minutes with the general theme being: "I'm gonna do this, this, and
this.  What are you're comments?"  Followed by a "So you agree with these
actions and that I should proceed as such."  Then write up the minutes briefly,
a few paragraphs and give your boss a copy.  Document-document-document!

The bottom line is the boss is now accountable for you're actions (as should
be) because he/she has agreed to those actions in a meeting and in the minutes.

In other words, if you don't politely and subtlely (sp?) force  your boss to be
accountable, you will be held accountable for the lack of management skills
because you are not performing the work-even if management can't define it!

Hang in there and don't lose confidence in your abilities.

Laura Praderio
Technical Whatever
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
lpraderio -at- whoi -dot- edu

Well, maybe not quite yet.  Are other manufacturing firms so dictatorial
over their staff?  We're not allowed posters/personalization of our
offices, plants, radios, or much else.  We (the exempt people) also punch
time clocks and have no flex time whatsoever.  Am I just naive?