The Ultimate Pawn
I've had about the worst 48 hrs. of my professional life. It's brought me as close to impulsively quitting a job as I've ever come. Wait... there was that time in grad school that I was afraid I was going to hit my major professor, so this would be the second time in my life.
Two days ago I was asked to import an Excel file into a database and then use the web-based tools that another group has built to put this data on the web. I started the parsing of the file, but then the manager of that other group said his people had tools to read Excel files directly (I was exporting it as text and then parsing that) and when I talked to this manager he and I agreed that his people could do the importing easily, and then just as easily throw up a web page. I said "Seems reasonable."
When I went to my manager to explain that this other Team had it all taken care of, his response was "I gave it to you to do. That means I want you to do it - not them." Hmmm... I thought... why does it matter? They know their tools and environment, they'll be faster, what's the big deal?
So I told the second manager that I had to do it. This was OK with him, and when I said "Just put it in a database, and I'll use PHP to write the page." his response was "But look at what we have! You can't do this as easily in anything else. It'll only take you 5 minutes to use our stuff." I knew this was a stretch, but given that I was going to be using his database, I gave in and said "OK, I'll do it your way eventhough I know it's no 5 min job for me." I was right about that.
After a day and a half, I got the page working reasonably well. It was exactly what my manager had asked for, but the second manager had come to the idea that I was now working on his Team, and as such I should take direction from him. When we clashed, he wasn't happy.
He then proceeded to tell my manager that I was difficult, arrogant, and not someone he could ever work with in the future.
So when I was asked this morning by my manager if all the historical data was loaded into the database, and my response was "They told me they have it.", his response was "My original intention was to have you work on this." I went to talk to him about this clear communication problem.
You see, there's no reason that this should have been this difficult. I didn't add much to the mix because I spent so much of my time on the learning curve and so little in the efficient developer mode. It was clear to me that the right thing to do was to leave this with the group that had the tools and experience. So I had asked my manager why it wasn't being handled that way. His response was basically that the other group didn't work fast enough and he didn't have any control over those people. Me, on the other hand, he had control over, and if I could learn what they do, then he wouldn't have to ask them to do these things any more.
When I went and talked to him about this I was prepared to say that this just wasn't something I understood. It didn't seem logical at all that I should be a useful addition to this process unless there was a change in the direction of our group, and we had to move this way. What I got was a completely unprofessional yelling at. Nothing short of amazing.
You see, it turns out that this second manager's comments about not being able to work with me had hit him in a sensative place. He was telling me how I needed to work on being nicer, kindler, gentler... I was accused of thinking too much - as if that's possible. I went from that meeting to talk with the other manager to clear the air. What I found there was very enlightening.
It seems that as things stand now, my group is going to be dissolved. That's too bad, but it happens. This would leave my manager with nothing to do. The other manager, however, is doing fine and will not receive cuts. That makes his group one to be a part of. Now, my manager wasn't doing this for me, he was doing it for him. He wanted to have someone on the inside that could handle the technology if it came down to a war between himself and the other manager. He believes that if he's successful, and the other manager leaves or tries to do a 'scorched earth' policy on him, then I'm his ace in the hole.
While normally politics just makes me uncomfortable, this kind of spying and game play makes me realize that this place is going to get a lot worse before it gets even a little bit better. This means that I really have to look for another place to work.
In the meantime, I've patched things up with the second manager and he's certainly willing to work with me, and looks forward to having me help out his team on a few things. My manager, is, quite frankly, at the end of his mental and emotional rope. I'm not sure that he's stable, and I know he's not someone I want to be around.
Until I get another job, however, I have to keep him happy. And I will. But it's also clear that this place is so far gone that logic and reason aren't even considered anymore. It's jockeying for position and power on a sinking ship. In a few years things may be nice again, but the carnage of these next 8 months will be nothing short of horriffic.