Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Homework and Gratitude

Visiting Yertle and having a great time - friendship is the nectar of the gods!

Define my Job - My job is to filter information between my boss and my employees. That's the role of a middle manager. I am to determine what information is necessary and appropriate to filter down and what information needs to be filtered up. It takes a lot of judgement on my part and a lot of trust. But at the same time, no one can expect information not to be sent up the chain and the boss can expect some information not to be sent down. Meaning that confidentiality works down the chain, not up. This has been hard for me and I struggle as I try to build trust and get things done at a lower level. The boss can ask me to keep secrets, but my employees cannot, or can they? I'll have to sort that one out.

My Boss - My boss is a loose cannon. He is unpredictable and not easily managed from the bottom. He is selfish and covets, enjoys, cherishes and is fighting for his freedom and flexibility. He believes he is not accountable to his staff, only to his board. He thinks he is undervalued and has friends with considerably more income. He is jealous and wonders if he is "settling". He thinks he is brilliant and above all of this mundane, routine work that I do. He doesn't respect the position and the responsibilities that come with it. He is fighting for his job and in doing so, may very well lose it. If not, I may lose mine.

Gratitude - I am grateful for enduring friendships, including and especially Yertle's, that stand the test of time and ebb and flow with change. I am grateful for parenting advice. I am grateful for seeing other parents and gaining an understanding of all the stages I've gone through and are yet to come. I am grateful for quiet time, long walks, and getting enough sleep.

2 comments:

Sierra said...

Great gratitude list. Sorry to hear you work for an unhappy man. Glad to hear that you are making the best of it and thinking about what really matters with trust... I think it should work both ways on the corporate ladder.

NicciN said...

Thanks! I am very grateful for enduring friendships too. It was so great to see you over several days and to have time to talk about things and to walk and cook. It was fun. We'll have to do it again soon.