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26762. arkymalarky - 2/13/2012 5:10:50 PM I was going to sign up there but don't want to get a paypal account and haven't got around to sending a check. I have a big break this weekend and will try to remember to do it then. 26763. arkymalarky - 2/13/2012 5:11:37 PM Gotten... 26764. vonKreedon - 2/13/2012 6:37:09 PM Hey Bhel - Take a position, I'll work on taking the contrary position. 26765. judithathome - 2/13/2012 9:53:42 PM I let Pelle knw he was wanted over here! 26766. iiibbb - 2/13/2012 10:18:41 PM I feel bad for a guy at work. He is talking himself out of a job. I was hired to get a handle on a complicated analysis, of which he has spent the better part of the past couple of years collecting data for. Although he does not have the skill set to really tackle the problem, he thinks he does. He also feels a strong ownership of the data. However, he's been sitting on some of it for over a year without even doing summary statistics because he's completely fixated on all of the "problems" they had while collecting it; problems that in the grand scheme of things aren't going away.
I started a few weeks ago, and have already started to make a lot of headway in breaking the problem apart. I figured out a different way to segment the data that helps negate how the problems affect the analysis.
Needless to say this guy is very threatened by my arrival. He doesn't have much good to say about any of my proposals for addressing the data... but literally says things like "I don't know what you're doing, but it's wrong"... or when I ask him about the units for one column says something like "I don't know what that is, but it's not going to be useful to you". This is not the mind of a person who's prepared to deal with complicated data.
26767. iiibbb - 2/13/2012 10:18:49 PM
He's very negative. He's obsessed about what's wrong with things and declares a lot of effort to be a waste of time. Rarely is effort a waste of time. Data is messy. You can't throw it out because something is messy; you have to find a way to make it useful to you.
Another thing he does his concern himself too much with things that aren't his concern. He pesters his/my boss about how funds are allocated for instance (i.e. he actually gave the boss a hard time because he was paying him out of a different fund than the project he was working under - a paycheck is a paycheck).
Anyway. I found out he's probably going to lose his job next summer and I feel bad for him. He's a conscientious guy, it's a tough economy. He wants to be a part of certain aspects of the science/analysis, but he's so territorial I don't know how to collaborate with him. He wants to be in the loop for every step --- I have to work through a process and bring people into the loop when I get to a plateau and can discuss problems more holistically. He can't seem to grock that.
Unfortunately, this is a soft money position, he's also a downer and complainer, and he's rejected roles that the organization has tried to give him.
It's made work a little strange because at the moment I rely on him to give me data I need --- but he's made the working relationship so tense I don't want to because he holds the process back.
I am liking my job though. I think my boss and I really click, and I hope I can make something more of this position because I am soft-money too -- but if I can get on some grants within the next 2 years, my time can be extended. That or I kick ass and my boss realizes just how indispensable I can be (my wife, P, the statistician, said that she thinks my skills are in the upper 10% for non-statisticians). I do feel I'm living up to the generous reference letters that were written about me. 26768. judithathome - 2/14/2012 3:05:59 AM It's all fine and good to feel for the guy but you need to watch out for yourself...he's doing that for HIMSELF, after all. 26769. iiibbb - 2/14/2012 3:21:57 AM I am.
He doesn't have a PhD; I do. While I wouldn't throw that in his face, the fact remains that I am qualified and he is not. 26770. Wombat - 2/14/2012 4:08:22 AM It's tough. At least he's not your boss. I've gotten into trouble a few times by not being tactful enough when my supervisor was displaying ignorance on subjects that I knew a lot about. 26771. iiibbb - 2/14/2012 4:23:26 AM My wife has a boss like that... and we didn't find out until we moved here which made the first couple of years really hard for her.
Now her boss realizes P's worth and is scared to lose her (the muckitty mucks inexplicably shot down the telecommuting plan); there is so much they're not going to get done once P leaves.
I have a pretty decent track record with people hard to get along with because I put the work over my ego. This is the first time I've worked with someone who was such an impediment. The thing is, I don't need him -- I was trying to work with him because he'd expressed so much interest in participating. However, that doesn't mean I'm going to relinquish control over the process, which is my purview. 26772. arkymalarky - 2/14/2012 5:51:12 AM I always liked the direct approach, but I don't think much about anything but the issue at hand. Rarely does a personality annoy me. If my principal or a colleague does something I don't like we deal with it right then and move on. My boss is a lot like me, so there aren't grudges or lingering feelings. I got so mad at her earlier this year I thought I'd explode, but we jst dealt with it.
Ego is poison at work and truly competent and confident people don't have it. They're too busy doing their jobs while the insecure ones keep stuff stirred up. 26773. bhelpuri - 2/14/2012 12:14:33 PM You suck, Kreedon 26774. bhelpuri - 2/14/2012 12:19:31 PM Can someone gimme link to this Able Minds forum? Also, what is Uncle Pelle's objection to posting here, in the good 'ol Mote? 26775. PsychProf - 2/14/2012 3:02:42 PM "Ego is poison at work and truly competent and confident people don't have it. They're too busy doing their jobs while the insecure ones keep stuff stirred "
I really like this nugget Arky. 26776. iiibbb - 2/14/2012 4:50:16 PM His problem is his insecurity and his "can't-do" attitude.
He's trying to make himself seem indispensable - but he's throwing all his eggs in the GIS basket instead of paying attention to what the organization needs.
It is not unlike the old engineer from "Office Space" who was the interface between engineers and customers because he was a "people person". 26777. iiibbb - 2/14/2012 4:51:39 PM Your point is beautifully succinct Arky. 26778. Jenerator - 2/14/2012 5:00:24 PM Arky,
I wish the direct approach worked more with others. Unfortunately there are a lot of saboteurs, and being direct about issues causes waves. I know that for me, when I dared to ask a question, I was labeled a 'trouble maker'. When I tried to then fix things on my own, I was labeled 'difficult'.
All I want to do is do my job and do it well. Sometimes that's not what others want. And those people are often the ones in control. 26779. arkymalarky - 2/14/2012 5:06:54 PM Thanks pp and 3i.
I need to clarify my earlier post. I wasn't mad when I talked to my principal. I got mad, then after processing that I talked to her. I don't want to leave the impression I read people the riot act whenever I get mad. Sometimes we disagree and if she has the final say, like the dress code we've had going on five tears now, I let my opinion be known and move on. People who are constantly worried about their own competence can't do that and they always seem to be in a battle over something. Unfortunately they can make everyone around them miserable if they sren't either marginalized or fired. There are times you have to stand up, but if they're not rare, you need to do a little reflection and see if you're the problem. Your colleague will likely never do that, and whatever happens to him will be someone else's fault in his eyes--probably yours. ;) 26780. Wombat - 2/14/2012 5:19:30 PM Bhel: VK doesn't suck! You do! Wait that's not an argument, it's a contradiction... 26781. arkymalarky - 2/14/2012 5:27:58 PM I'd just do what I do, Jen. I've built a reputation over the years as someone who isn't a pushover but doesn't push others and who speaks her mind. We've had those games here in spades due to a lot of issues I won't bore y'all with here, and I've been heavily involved in them. But I lay my cards on the table and expect others to do the same and call them on it when they don't. No fuss, no muss, no daily drama. I couldn't give a rip what they say about me. A lot of that stuff is still going on and as a passive observer I now find it amusing. I lost what I cared about and the current issues are irrelevant. I've always been left alone wherever I've taught, but I know what I will and will not do. They can control what they do, I can't help that. But I will make my professional decisions and judgments.
Years ago, my supt, who's a dear friend to this day, overruled me with a student. I pled my case, he pled his, and I told him to explain to the student and parents that this was his decision alone and that I disagreed with it. The end. I didn't think about it any more. I know a woman who got fired years ago for not passing an athlete. She stood her ground and got backpay and a new great job. It's not about who's right at work, it's about how you deal with it, choosing the hill you want to die on, and changing jobs or careers when you need to. At Stan's old school they dumped on me and I left. I didn't tell them why, even when they asked me directly. I didn't see the point. Stan was happy. Later he got unhappy for other reasons and left. Nothing personal for either of us. We didn't like how our jobs were run, when they didn't fix it we left, at different times for different reasons. They weren't going to change, so we moved elsewhere.
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