Need advice: Taking Charge

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I get the sense that management wants people to "take charge" in situations where they have not been given formal authority. A co-contractor here was given conflicting information: you are to take direction, but take initiative and not have to ask what to do. When she takes initiative and does what needs to be done, she gets in trouble because she did not ask.

I'm in a situation where I'm wondering if management is disgusted at me for not taking charge of the technical aspect of the project. I clarified my role a few months back: I am to do everything another employee says. But, that employee's lack of ability is the reason why the project is failing. I'm his "helper monkey", as he calls me. Management assertively stays uninformed about the project, so they have no idea that I have demonstrated my ability to take charge technically (typical mid-west situation). I think they are judging me on whether I can bully the other guy into doing it the right way. I can hardly write this right, though, because I'm really confused altogether. I am not the type of person to bully another person and order my superior around. I need to be given that power based on respect for my abilities, not my ability to scare another person with aggression.

From what I see, the most aggressive, rude, pushy, bullies are the ones who move up and take command. This seems to be an American phenomenon, but maybe Europe is like this too. I can't be that kind of person, I rely on management to make the correct decision and put me in charge technically. I can tell that means (at least, I THINK I can tell) that I am a "programmer" in their eyes. In fact, my boss even said on the second day, "He's definitely a programmer." That wasn't a compliment. My Master's degree is in Software Engineering, not programming, and I wouldn't make the mistakes the other person without those credentials makes (heck, even without those credentials, I still wouldn't make those mistakes out of experience).

Is there something I should be doing, or should I just stay the course?

I would suggest you make careful notes on the situation, make an appointment with this guy's boss, and then *calmly and rationally ask for clarification and advice.* Ask if you are supposed - not bully, that's a loaded word, use 'persuade (?) - the other person into doing things, or obey him despite what you think, or do what you think best.

Note: Bosses WILL hedge and be ambiguous so that whatever you do is Not Their Fault, but if your boss has even a shred of reason you can simply play innocent and keep on asking for help and advice until you get a clear answer.

And if the answer is "simply obey him", then *stop propping him up*.

Unless (and this is often the subtext in the workplace): you are verbally told to obey the jerk with the expectation that you had better darned well prop him up and if not you are at fault. This has to do with workplace politics. You are hired to make this jerk look good and not get the credit, but nobody's supposed to admit that. Like Rosalind Franklin and the discovery of DNA. Or like the entire situation in ATLAS SHRUGGED. Is there anyone else in the workplace you can trust to tell you what is really going on there? IS it happening to other people? Is this character the nephew of an important client or the son-in-law of a higher level manager or something like that?

If you can't get a clear answer out of the boss then this is almost certainly the case, and you can either continue to prop up this character, or start looking for another job quietly.

If you don't think this is the case, and you are told to just obey, then document every order you are given in his precise words and what you did and what the results are. And keep the log hidden on your person or in your car or on your own personal and private PDA. And ask for another meeting. This meeting may reveal that there really was a hidden subtext after all. Be prepared to start job hunting.

Does anyone on this list agree or disagree? Feedback, PLEASE, I don't want to get this guy fired!

Thank you for the feedback! I did many of those things. Here are the results:

- Having a meeting about my role.

I work for a contracting firm. They met with the client and confirmed that, yes, I am to take direction from the person.

- Talking to boss

The boss cuts me off if I ever talk to him about the work and says, "I don't want to know." There is no line of communication outside of peripheral small-talk with my boss (the client).

- Making notes about the situation

I insisted that the person write down exactly what I have to do, but he refused to ever do so. I keep a log of IM conversations, but he insists on having phone calls. He is completely unable to manage his own time much less mine.

- Not propping up

The thing is, whether I prop him up or not will not matter. The boss wants to know so little, working hard or not makes no difference. So, I work hard because it passes the time more and presents personal challenges. If I stop "saving his ass", as he has said on numerous occassions, I will wind up without a job because he will say something negative on the social network and I will be out of a job. There is no other data to my boss outside of the social network. This is how every job has been, so I'm not keen on jumping again, knowing it will be the same thing, different logo.

I'm not sure if he is a nephew, but this is definitely a family company and could very well be. So far, I've managed to keep going and it doesn't look like I'm going to lose my job outside of the project failing and them outsourcing. I don't have the influence to do what is necessary for ultimate project success.

Atlas Shrugged was a great book. Also, 1984, when Orwell said, "If there is hope, it lies with the proles." It means that the oligarchy (the few who control many) parasites will lose their hosts if the proles (working class) wakes up and leaves. However, I've left jobs before as a prole and I have no power in small numbers. It would require an entire company to walk out and that won't happen without a union because people have kids to feed.

I really, really appreciate this feedback and am hungry to hear more! At least I know I'm not alone (Although, that shouldn't make me feel better).

This is a great thread. Thank you for sharing the predicament, and the advice.

Most of us have had similar types of problems and it is great to learn from each other.