Tuesday, September 16, 2008
My Biggest Management Problem
What can I say about management? Management is a part of our everyday lives. We make decisions on everything we do in order to live a better more fufilling life. I want to get ahead but the thing I am having a problem managing at the moment is communicating. Some days I have confidence in my communication skills and am able to communicate what I am feeling clearly. On other days I have no confidence and it's on those days where it is difficult for me to convey what I feel. A perfect example is that I sometimes feel like my manager is not being fair to me and am unable to confront him on certain issues like requesting time off. You would think that this would be a simple issue, however, for me it's not that simple. First I send an e-mail to him with my requested days off and then I wait. Usually I don't hear back from him. Days or even weeks would go by and I still wouldn't get an answer even with follow up e-mails. I have also followed up with him face to face and he still doesn't seem concerned that this is an important issue. It's important to me because I want to finalize travel plans and because I am not getting the "ok", my plans have to be put on hold. After speaking with others in my group, I find that he responds to their requested days off without a problem and still today I keep wondering how I should deal with this issue.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
You might have to speak to someone above him if he has a boss. It is your right to have days off. You earned them by working there and he is supposed to give you the time you need unless there is an emergency deadline or something extremely important. You are doing the right thing by asking for time off in advance and not a week before. If you give a few weeks notice it is not supposed to be a problem. You should ask your other coworkers how they ask him and see what they say. If they are doing the same exact thing as you and getting replies I would call him and ask if you can speak face to face for 5 minutes. Sometimes people don't respond to emails quickly because they are bombarded with work. Speak to him face to face and ask him to respond to the email or sign something so you have documented proof that he is letting you take off. Let him know how you feel because he isn't treating anyone else that way.
It is obvious that he has some issue with you and it would be very difficult for you to function in an environment such as that. I agree with Brian, if it is in fact that you are entitled to days off you should definitely speak to someone above him. Be aware that doing that can make things worse for you there dealing with him but no one deserves to be taken advantage of. Also he is not operating in a professional manner with the way he is acting toward you, if he has a problem, it is his obligation to confront you on the issue and deal with it so you guys can put it behind you and move on. Another option is for you to confront him about it.
Try to practice confronting your boss. It is obvious that he's aware of your unease with your verbal communication skills. He has not treated your request with the same respect that he's given others'. On a very personal level, never let your boss see your weaknesses, they will use it against you.Dawn, I'm going out on a limb here, but here it goes. Do you like your, job, your boss, and or your co-workers? How are your prospects of finding a new job. You say you are married, can you manage while you look for another job? It might be that this job is not the right fit.
Post a Comment