Help me navigate office politics
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Anonymous
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I am 10 years into a large multinational. 3 years ago, I was approached for a promotion in a different department (will call it FINANCE) which I refused nicely saying it was not in line with my career aspiration. An external hire (will call her ANA) took the role. Fast forward current time, my company pivots out of my field and I am transferred to FINANCE under ANA. ANA and I so far have a decent working relationship. Im very light touch to onboard because I am already well embedded. I know the people very well and they have been warm to me. I am just about 3 months in. Objectively, ANA's leadership leaves much to be desired. She is disorganized, takes forever to make a decision and really does not come across as confident in meetings. That said, she is not terrible or toxic. Co-workers have been asking me to pressure ANA to come up with clearer work responsibilities (it's a mess with assignments and accountabilities). I dont want to do that. I feel like I might have a target on my back already because ANA's profile and my profile are very similar and I definitely know the company better than her. I do not want to outshine her or be a threat to her in any wave, shape or form. I am ultimately here because I need a job and I do not want her job. To make matters even more challenging, ANA's boss who is a total dickhead (one of the reasons I dont want ANA's job) keeps calling me out during meetings, saying "ANA, you have (my name) on your team now, (my name) knows what to do! Why dont you go chitchat with (myname) more" as if to suggest I know better than ANA. It is awkward as hell.
It is so obvious that the group is looking for a leader, but I do not want to be that leader. How can I be a team player and make sure I dont make ANA insecure? |
Anonymous
| Very challenging to report to a peer |