Politics in the job

net_nomad

Hi Everyone

I have been a long time silent reader of these forums and have picked up some great career advice especially from this section.

I have a dilemma on my hands and would like some feedback.

I was hired as a desktop support role where I work .... the nature of the work is we live on site and we work 7 days a week in rotations e.g 14 days working and 7 days off you fly back home.

the entire site had only 1 network engineer and when he is on his 7 days off if something goes wrong with the network there was no recourse.

I brought up with my manager that I have a CCNA and experience working with cisco gear .. and that I would be willing to cover the network when the engineer is off-site.

and now im officially the backup network engineer. by I was able to fix a network problem that the site engineer could not .. wireless point to point .. because of my electrical engineering background.

anyway to come to my point ... the site engineer now deals with me as an enemy ..
- he changed all the passwords on the routers/switches will not share important info.
- refuses to do a proper hand-over when he leaves site
- blames me for any mistake that he makes
- constantly complains to other managers that I should not be in the same position as he is.


to put it politely he is very difficult to work with. the plus side is I have my managers support , who knows I have fixed a few problems that the senior guy could not.

I'm trying to survive so I can get the experience here and move on to better things.

the only thing keeping me here at the moment it provides excellent opportunity for experience in designing,troubleshooting networks.

what do you think ?

mikej412

net_nomad wrote: »

what do you think ?

I think it's a shame that there's never a wild bear around when you need one.

shaqazoolu

Sounds like your manager needs to step up here. Unfortunately, if that isn't going to happen, I'm not sure what else can be done.

I don't necessarily think ultimatums are the right way to handle things but in this case where there isn't really an escape, I'd ask your manager to remove the backup engineer responsibilities or handle the idgit that acts like a toddler. If they have realized any real value out of you taking on that extra responsibility, like improved customer/user/client/whatever relations when he is out, this will be an easy decision for them. It doesn't sound to me like it's officially part of your job function anyway, so they can't really hold you to it.

They either need to do that or have a "come to Jesus" speech with the insecure peckerhead that keeps acting like a child. He can either play nice or he can GTFO. I will admit though, this option comes from someone who had to put up with a lot of crap when I was a manager so my tolerance for stupid people is incredibly low. Your manager may not be quite so hardcore. It's definitely a tough situation to be in. Basically, if your manager doesn't help you out here, I think a wild bear might be your only way out.

Dakinggamer87

mikej412 wrote: »

I think it's a shame that there's never a wild bear around when you need one.

So true!!

chmod

I had the same issue long time ago.

What i did to handle the situation was basically study and work harder to become more knowledgeable.
Then i became more aggressive i constantly tried to demonstrate that he was not that good and he was not willing to work with other engineers.

You need to survive in this industry you have/need/must demonstrate that you are better than him just be careful be polite and aggressive.

Your situation is becoming a competition and you have to win rather than quit.

rsutton

Have you tried talking to him? You might be surprised how far an honest, non aggressive chit-chat can go. Other than that, I'd recommend documenting any changes you make to the network so when he blames you you can refer to your documentation as needed.

BroadcastStorm

mikej412 wrote: »

I think it's a shame that there's never a wild bear around when you need one.

Lol someone need to tranquilize that wild bear :P he is is being protective of his cisco cubs :P

I would stay off the radar and make sure not to rub the wrong way with the other guy but let the managers handle it, instead try to work along side him maybe he would realize that your intention is not malicious, he is threatened and fighting claws with claws can have a devastating consequences

In the other hand it's a bear eat bear world out there if this doesn't work, I would continue with my goal of rising above him, weather this have a positive or negative consequences, you will always come out as a winner in the long run no matter what happens at your job.

mikedisd2

Send an email to your manager documenting all the issues you are having with this person. Although you have your manager's suppport, you need to have that written evidence with a timestamp to state your case when things turn worse later on, which it will. Changing passwords on you is sociopathic and this needs to be communicated to mgmt.

Make sure you are networking socially with mgmt. You must show to be the competent good guy here. Remember, this jerk is actively working to take you down. Don't ignore it.

eMeS

net_nomad wrote: »

what do you think ?

You need to be patient and let this guy hang himself with his own rope.

Time usually sorts out behaviors like what you've described.

MS

BroadcastStorm

eMeS wrote: »

You need to be patient and let this guy hang himself with his own rope.

Time usually sorts out behaviors like what you've described.

MS

+1 I agree with this, brutal response is going to complicate things and remember he's valuable than you atm especially locking down the network,, let the managers figure some of this stuff while enabling them, and gently gliding on the radar without the wild bear detecting you....

veritas_libertas

eMeS wrote: »

You need to be patient and let this guy hang himself with his own rope.

Time usually sorts out behaviors like what you've described.

MS

Agreed. When you are new it's best to try to not rock the boat. If he is that paranoid/protective of his job than I'm sure your not the only one to see these problems.

eMeS

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Agreed. When you are new it's best to try to not rock the boat. If he is that paranoid/protective of his job than I'm sure your not the only one to see these problems.

Even better if it can be set up such that at some point you appear to be that guy's savior....

MS

mikedisd2

BroadcastStorm wrote: »

+1 I agree with this, brutal response is going to complicate things and remember he's valuable than you atm especially locking down the network,, let the managers figure some of this stuff while enabling them, and gently gliding on the radar without the wild bear detecting you....

I can't agree with the 'do nothing' approach. He is bad-mouthing you behind your back. You need to take some measures to protect your postion. Mgmt need to be aware of the great job that you are doing and that this guy is purposely making your job difficult. It could easily go the other way if you do nothing. Remember, it's politics and nothing to do with the reality of the situation.

blargoe

You need to have been documenting all of these instances of him screwing up, blaming you for things when he knew them not to be true, not handing off information, etc. You may not end up using this documentation, but you MUST start capturing this information, because you might end up needing it to defend yourself.

Also, if your management is not fully aware of how bad the situation is, they may fault you for not bringing it to their attention sooner... sorta depends on the management style.

My advice - protect yourself, but keep doing things the right way. Treat people how you would want to be treated. Continue your good work ethic. You should win most of the people over if you haven't already, and it will be hard for you to lose with public perception AND management on your side.

earweed

Good advice here so far. Document stuff (your work, his work, problems, etc.) and I especially liked the idea someone presented of trying to have a nice friendly non-confrontational chat with the guy. Tell him you're not trying to take his job but your on the same team, trying to keep the network running really well.
Most important, protect yourself. If he's unresponsive to the chat then look out for yourself and your own job.

net_nomad

thanks guys, some great advice

I've already started documenting any changes that I'm requested to make.
things will eventually catch up to him, because he treats everybody like garbage, I've established a good relationship with the home office network engineers .. and they have made sure since last week that im cc'ed on everything.

and I am planning to talk the manager again about this problem.

and hang in here for as long as I can.

blargoe

Good luck! Hope it works out.

BroadcastStorm

net_nomad wrote: »

thanks guys, some great advice

I've already started documenting any changes that I'm requested to make.
things will eventually catch up to him, because he treats everybody like garbage, I've established a good relationship with the home office network engineers .. and they have made sure since last week that im cc'ed on everything.

and I am planning to talk the manager again about this problem.

and hang in here for as long as I can.

I would use a network change control, it's pretty straightforward, old-config and new-config etc. if you guys don't have one yet propose it