What is with these people?
One of the up-sides of working in science, I think, is that no matter how arrogant and obnoxious the Herr Doktor Professors I have had to work with have been, they have all been essentially rational at the core. They may have twisted, byzantine, evil, plans, in which my career and happiness count for less than the shadow of a wilting aspidistra cast on the wall of a rundown Liverpool boardinghouse, but at least they have had plans.
Even as I type this, there are two under-the-breath phone conversations going on that would appear to relate to the 'handover'. That's the trouble with how this whole thing's been handled - nobody's willing to just stand up and impose some order, so everything is being done through back channels, hushed asides and corridor plotting...
Yay science! Though, to be fair, I have been exposed to some seriously enthusiastic people who have a distinct inability to determine what is possible to do in a certain time frame, with a certain amount of money. This can be very entertaining to watch...right up till the point they suck me in as the person who will have to do the work.
By Anonymous, at
1:11 PM
You have unerringly identified the point on which I am most alarmed...
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
The internal struggle over which section gets to be in charge of my project team and how it’s going to be run has speared up to new heights of mismanagement, acrimony and, yes, even incompetence in the last couple of days. Until now I’ve been navigating through it all with a “let the chips fall where they may” attitude, confident that there was some sort of, y’know, plan at work in the upper organisational stratosphere.
Oh no. There are agendas, certainly, but rumours of strategic thinking, change management or basic step-by-step planning are all grossly overstated. The people involved – none of whom would be paid less than 50 grand a year more than I am, mind you – lack even the most elementary communications/listening skills required to understand the other side’s concerns. The main offender, for whom I will shortly be working under the current arrangements, argues his case with repeated and increasingly incredible assertions as to his qualifications, utterly unwavering knee-jerk judgments, unfathomable hostility to demurring viewpoints and utter, utter arrogance.
Excuse me for a second. Some chick called Cassandra is trying to get my attention about something she says she’s seen.
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But on the plus side, we're having tea and cake now...
Jenny.
