Afraid of getting fired

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I am not an AA, I am a manager. I talked to him about this. He admits he is a stickler for details but then says he's "not a perfectionist". It makes me laugh.

For exaple, let's say we have to submit a proposal by oh, 2 PM on a Tuesday. I get the final materials from the analysts at oh, 1:55. (I am already familiar with the contents from the earlier vetting of drafts.) I frantically lay the final version out, with all attachments, insertions, etc. get it into the final format, and am to insert my boss' electronic signature (for the first time, as I am rather new). So I drop the signature in, hit send, and get the proposal in at 1:59. Phew!

Then later I get an email from him saying, in essence, "thanks for doing that, now here's the list of everything that was not perfect" - including that he didn't like the way his electronic signature was aligned on the page. It was too far right, it should have been more aligned with the, "Sincerely". This is an image that had to be dropped into the file at the last possible second...

I think many of you raised good points. I am NOT a perfectionist - I am usually valued for being a high-volume producer in a fast-paced environment. But I guess I am going to have to raise my game if I want to continue working here and be as valued by my boss as I'd like to be.

It sounds like your workplace requires some teamwork and coordination, along with attention to detail, so it's not going to serve you well to go the "I'm high volume and on-deadline" route--because the expectation is high volume, on-deadline, AND as close to perfect as possible. I got a whiff of you trying to blame the analysts, and would suggest that you instead focus some energy on how to manage your relationship with them so they can deliver in time for you to create a professional product. Trust me when I say that bosses are less interested in hearing about all the reasons something didn't go as planned and who's to blame. An employee gains my trust and confidence by demonstrating that they can make the best of any situation. I'm sorry you're off to such a rocky start, but use this time to get things right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I am not an AA, I am a manager. I talked to him about this. He admits he is a stickler for details but then says he's "not a perfectionist". It makes me laugh.

For exaple, let's say we have to submit a proposal by oh, 2 PM on a Tuesday. I get the final materials from the analysts at oh, 1:55. (I am already familiar with the contents from the earlier vetting of drafts.) I frantically lay the final version out, with all attachments, insertions, etc. get it into the final format, and am to insert my boss' electronic signature (for the first time, as I am rather new). So I drop the signature in, hit send, and get the proposal in at 1:59. Phew!

Then later I get an email from him saying, in essence, "thanks for doing that, now here's the list of everything that was not perfect" - including that he didn't like the way his electronic signature was aligned on the page. It was too far right, it should have been more aligned with the, "Sincerely". This is an image that had to be dropped into the file at the last possible second...

I think many of you raised good points. I am NOT a perfectionist - I am usually valued for being a high-volume producer in a fast-paced environment. But I guess I am going to have to raise my game if I want to continue working here and be as valued by my boss as I'd like to be.

It sounds like your workplace requires some teamwork and coordination, along with attention to detail, so it's not going to serve you well to go the "I'm high volume and on-deadline" route--because the expectation is high volume, on-deadline, AND as close to perfect as possible. I got a whiff of you trying to blame the analysts, and would suggest that you instead focus some energy on how to manage your relationship with them so they can deliver in time for you to create a professional product. Trust me when I say that bosses are less interested in hearing about all the reasons something didn't go as planned and who's to blame. An employee gains my trust and confidence by demonstrating that they can make the best of any situation. I'm sorry you're off to such a rocky start, but use this time to get things right.

Yes, I am already working on a program for the anaylsts - we will have a process in place where they basically have to pretend the deadline is 48 hours BEFORE the real deadline. My boss has consistently had the same problem with them for years - lateness - and claims he is going to enforce this new rule by refusing to complete the next several proposals they send at the last minute but.... we shall see.

I have a feeling you are the same poster who said I am on the mental list. Am I right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I am not an AA, I am a manager. I talked to him about this. He admits he is a stickler for details but then says he's "not a perfectionist". It makes me laugh.

For exaple, let's say we have to submit a proposal by oh, 2 PM on a Tuesday. I get the final materials from the analysts at oh, 1:55. (I am already familiar with the contents from the earlier vetting of drafts.) I frantically lay the final version out, with all attachments, insertions, etc. get it into the final format, and am to insert my boss' electronic signature (for the first time, as I am rather new). So I drop the signature in, hit send, and get the proposal in at 1:59. Phew!

Then later I get an email from him saying, in essence, "thanks for doing that, now here's the list of everything that was not perfect" - including that he didn't like the way his electronic signature was aligned on the page. It was too far right, it should have been more aligned with the, "Sincerely". This is an image that had to be dropped into the file at the last possible second...

I think many of you raised good points. I am NOT a perfectionist - I am usually valued for being a high-volume producer in a fast-paced environment. But I guess I am going to have to raise my game if I want to continue working here and be as valued by my boss as I'd like to be.

It sounds like your workplace requires some teamwork and coordination, along with attention to detail, so it's not going to serve you well to go the "I'm high volume and on-deadline" route--because the expectation is high volume, on-deadline, AND as close to perfect as possible. I got a whiff of you trying to blame the analysts, and would suggest that you instead focus some energy on how to manage your relationship with them so they can deliver in time for you to create a professional product. Trust me when I say that bosses are less interested in hearing about all the reasons something didn't go as planned and who's to blame. An employee gains my trust and confidence by demonstrating that they can make the best of any situation. I'm sorry you're off to such a rocky start, but use this time to get things right.

Yes, I am already working on a program for the anaylsts - we will have a process in place where they basically have to pretend the deadline is 48 hours BEFORE the real deadline. My boss has consistently had the same problem with them for years - lateness - and claims he is going to enforce this new rule by refusing to complete the next several proposals they send at the last minute but.... we shall see.

I have a feeling you are the same poster who said I am on the mental list. Am I right?

Indeed I am! Everyone I work with is smart and talented, and we place a high value on team orientation, particularly going the extra mile to help a colleague, because those kinds of actions build trust and job satisfaction in the long term. We have long-tenure and (based on employee satisfaction surveys) high satisfaction in our group. We are always trying to do better, and in the originally-referenced case, sometimes doing better means getting non-performers out (in our case, it was an AA who couldn't/wouldn't get basic AA functions right).

The process you mentioned above sounds like a step in the right direction in terms of enforcement...let him be the stick but what if you attempted a complementary route? For example, friendly discussion with analysts: I'm new, I'm trying to learn the processes, what could I have prepped you with or what could have gone differently so that I could have had the materials in hand at XX:00 (instead of 1:55!)? They might detail a screwy process that you could offer to collaborate on redesigning (getting big points in the process for innovation), they could have hated your ogre-like predecessor, or they could have no real excuses at all--either way, you've made a step towards helping them understand your needs and demonstrated leadership by digging deeper into the issue. I meant my comment about the mental list seriously--everyone has such a list, whether they fess up to it or not--but if you're willing to do the work, it is certainly possible to step up your game, show your worth, reward your boss for having faith in you, then get off the bad list and get comfortably ensconced in the good list.

[Anonymous]

Good list and bad list? What are we, in kindergarten? I know that occasionally in the workplace there might be a person who is difficult to work with, abuses privileges, doesn't do the work, or what have you, but in my experience those people are few and far between. What I have seen far more often is personality-based conflict and favoritism that did not reflect on the quality of the non-favorites' work, but was still determinative of their value/tenure at the company. I think your attitude about wanting to do the best job you can and proactively help solve problems is great, OP. I have no doubt that you are a valuable employee. I just hope that your boss can see that as well.