Facing a lying boss? Time to work for a manager you can trust
<SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://fw.adsafeprotected.com/rjss/dc/15662/659694/adj/N5823.BizJournal/B7247550.3;abr=!ie;sz=300x250;click0=http://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/aclk?sa=L&ai=BZKi35Pj5UMSOBM6NlAKsnYGgB7Hr144DAAAAEAEgADgAWPGzwp9NYMm2zIbEo9gYggEXY2EtcHViLTk3MzYwOTI2MDQ2Nzc1MTayARN3d3cuYml6am91cm5hbHMuY29tugEJZ2ZwX2ltYWdlyAEJ2gFOaHR0cDovL3d3dy5iaXpqb3VybmFscy5jb20vdHdpbmNpdGllcy9zdG9yaWVzLzIwMDcvMDMvMjYvc21hbGxiMi5odG1sP3BhZ2U9YWxsmALYNsACAuACAOoCIDQ2MzUvYnpqLnR3aW5jaXRpZXMvYXJ0aWNsZV9wYWdl-AKE0h6QA6wCmAOkA6gDAeAEAaAGIA&num=0&sig=AOD64_3_pDtRKm5rUJ2Ykk_zhBUbY3xcaA&client=ca-pub-9736092604677516&adurl=;ord=1491703620?"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <A HREF="http://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/aclk?sa=L&ai=BZKi35Pj5UMSOBM6NlAKsnYGgB7Hr144DAAAAEAEgADgAWPGzwp9NYMm2zIbEo9gYggEXY2EtcHViLTk3MzYwOTI2MDQ2Nzc1MTayARN3d3cuYml6am91cm5hbHMuY29tugEJZ2ZwX2ltYWdlyAEJ2gFOaHR0cDovL3d3dy5iaXpqb3VybmFscy5jb20vdHdpbmNpdGllcy9zdG9yaWVzLzIwMDcvMDMvMjYvc21hbGxiMi5odG1sP3BhZ2U9YWxsmALYNsACAuACAOoCIDQ2MzUvYnpqLnR3aW5jaXRpZXMvYXJ0aWNsZV9wYWdl-AKE0h6QA6wCmAOkA6gDAeAEAaAGIA&num=0&sig=AOD64_3_pDtRKm5rUJ2Ykk_zhBUbY3xcaA&client=ca-pub-9736092604677516&adurl=http://fw.adsafeprotected.com/rfw/dc/15662/659691/jump/N5823.BizJournal/B7247550.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=300x250;ord=1491703620?"> <IMG SRC="http://fw.adsafeprotected.com/rfw/dc/15662/659692/ad/N5823.BizJournal/B7247550.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=300x250;ord=1491703620?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=300 HEIGHT=250 ALT="Advertisement"></A> </NOSCRIPT> - Staff Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
I've got an intolerable situation that concerns me a great deal that you might have some thoughts on and that might be of interest to your readers.
For the past few years, I've worked with a large research institution in a unit that provides services to faculty at our institution. When I first came on board, I noticed things about the workplace that bugged me -- misunderstandings about projects, roles or other aspects of our work that seemed to crop up everywhere. Initially, I chalked it up to the fact that we were a new organization and settling into a routine or just the politics of academia. However, over time, I've learned that the manager of our unit is a habitual liar.
She misleads new hires about their job responsibilities and the nature of the work. She meets with us individually about faculty consulting, then contradicts what she told us in the private meeting when she talks later with the faculty members. She forms working groups and committees, telling each member something different about what she wants.
Most disturbing to me is that she has misrepresented our work in reports to our administration. The level of activity of consulting and other work in our unit is misstated, giving an impression that we're having a bigger impact on our campus than we really are. We give out grants to faculty and information that shows that the grant was ineffective or that the faculty member couldn't account for their spending.
She also tells groups of constituents -- faculty, administrators, and other units on campus -- different stories about what our responsibilities are or what our focus is on campus. She's even taken reports and proposals written by our staff and presented them as her own work at conferences.
The manager of my unit is a professional staff member; she isn't faculty and she doesn't have tenure. However, when individuals from our unit have expressed concern to human resources about aspects of her behavior, they've been ignored.
Many who have expressed confusion about the misleading information or pointed it out to her have been forced to leave. About a third to one half of our unit has constant turnover; despite this, she's been given additional responsibilities and absorbed other units in our division and was even given a position of responsibility on the board of our division.
My only reason for staying here is that I like the institution and the faculty that I work with. I've stayed quiet over the years, hoping that an administrator might start asking some questions. However, I'm finding it an impossible situation -- I can't believe anything my manager says and I have to be cautious when talking with faculty, administrators or co-workers, wondering what she may have told them about a project I'm working on.
I think the word is getting out, at least among some of our faculty and peer colleagues in similar units at other universities, that we're not all we're made out to be by our manager. I think my association with this unit may hurt me professionally in the long run.
Is there a way to work for someone you don't trust? Or should I just give up on the institution and move on? Is there an ethical responsibility I have here?
Answer:
Your boss is a ruthless survivor. Whether she is tenured or not, her behavior is unethical, dishonest and inexcusable.
She has mastered the game of making herself look good at all costs -- stealing credit, inflating her unit's contributions,
driving out those who question her, and even falsifying any results that don't paint her program in the best light. Do you really want to work for this snake?
Let's examine your examples:
YOUR manager is going to undercut any good work that you do,
because she is threatened, so any complaint (even an honest exit interview) will be attributed to a "disgruntled employee." Some of her faculty customers are starting to smell a rat, but you can bet the ones she's covering for will come to her defense.
Even if you blew the whistle on her, she has been putting on such a convincing show to senior management (she has even been given more responsibility), you would probably lose. I suggest that you either start applying for other jobs in the institution, or go find a more ethical manager somewhere else. And if you do leave the institution, send this column to the head of the organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment