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'Help! My boss has no tech skills and is a lousy manager'
7 comments- IT TOPICS:Careers, Management
Question: I have a boss who neither has a degree nor an IT background. That would be fine, but he doesn't have management skills either. We have an IT department of three and the company hired a finance person with no technical skills. When he was hired, the company bought him his very first cell phone. Also, his very first laptop he worked on was here at the company. This person is 40 years old and knows nothing about IT.
The above issues would not be a problem if he knew how to manage. His idea of managing is calling a group meeting once a month. I worked with him on a project when he first became my boss. I was having issues with a finance person pushing off his work onto me. My job is to make sure this person has the tools to do their job and make sure the tools work correctly. Instead of my boss telling this person that he should do his job, he actually told me to "kiss the persons a*s". I then told him I was about an inch from finding another job and he told me, "If you need a good reference, let me know."
The finance person has now been my boss for about a year. Everyone in the company asks what his job is. However, nothing seems to be done about it. The thing that frustrates me is that a whole week can go by and he doesn't even say, "hi" or "How are you doing?". He provides no support when it comes to sticking up for his department. There are 2 other people in my department, but they suck up, even though they know he is worthless. They each get treated differently than me. When it comes to training, I have to have other Directors tell him that they want me to go to classes. He doesn't bother to ask me anythting, even though I send him emails on everything that I do. His idea of talking to me is telling me that I have to be at my desk 8 hours a day. Even though I work at home quite a bit, to complete projects on short deadlines and help customers with system issues. He told me NOT to work from home. However, he does not tell the other two employees the same thing. They get comp time and aren't under the same rules I am.
I am not quite sure what to do. I have waited for my boss to go away. I am hoping everyday that the upper management realizes that he isn't doing his job. However, the person who hired him, his boss, I think protects him. My boss and his boss ride bikes everyday at lunch. When they aren't doing that, they go out to eat at lunch. On the weekends, they go snowboarding and biking. Please help! Any advice you can send my way would be appreciated.
CIO and Premier 100 honoree Bill Regehr responds: Your posting could leave one feeling that this is a hopeless situation. However, life is a series of choices and each of us has multiple choices in any situation.
You said that your IT department has a staff of three people. This would suggest that you're working in a fairly small organization. In small organizations, hiring decisions are not taken lightly so your manager was probably brought in for some very specific reasons. The strength of his relationship with his manager could be one of those or he may have been brought in to bring more than just his IT knowledge to the business. Whatever the case, those are beyond your control.
Your peers have chosen to get along with this manager and appear to be reaping the benefit of that choice. On the other hand you seem to have chosen the path of the skeptic and critic. The "treatment" you are receiving is most likely the result of your choice of approaches in dealing with him. People can sense when there is animosity or lack of respect in a relationship and will respond accordingly.
You have three choices in this situation: (1) play the role of the martyr by attributing bad judgment to upper management for hiring this person and continue to resent his level of competence; (2) Take a positive approach to your manager and find ways to use your contribution (work) to make your company successful; (3) If you are unable to assume a more positive approach, take responsibility for your own well-being by moving into another employment situation. You’ve already threatened this with your manager. The choice is yours.
A very good friend said to me one day, "Harboring bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die." Your manager may not be the most qualified to direct the affairs of the IT department, but that doesn't make him a bad person. I would encourage you to think clearly about your choices and make your choice unemotionally. If your choice is to leave the organization, leave with respect and dignity on the table for everyone involved. You will leave a reputation behind regardless of how you choose to leave. If you are going to stay, find a way to be supportive and a positive contributor to the team. Whatever you do, don’t continue as you are today. It won't serve any useful purpose and may end up having a disastrous effect on you personally
Bill Regehr is senior vice president of IT and CIO at Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Atlanta. Read about his IT mentoring efforts in our feature story The Next Generation of IT.
A panel of experts will be answering readers' "bad boss" questions through Jan. 27. Post your questions in the comments area. And don't miss our story Surviving a Bad Boss.
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