Adventures in Management - Finding out the Truth

I had a great laugh last week that I have to share with you.

My manager, J, isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. In fact, some days he just downright drives me nuts. I really want him to go so I can take his place. He's been looking at some other opportunities, and because of that, there has been some churn in the Team's gossip mill going on the past few weeks about what would happen if he did move on to something else.

So last week I was sitting in my cube working when I overheard J. on the next row over talking to one of our project managers (another person who I don't especially trust). "XXX, you have to see this power point I made. You are the queen, I thought you'd appreciate it!" he bubbled over at her. She ooh-ed and ahh-ed over it and finally pronounced, "It's so manly!"

I choked a bit on the diet Coke I was drinking, stifling a laugh.

After he bounced back to his office, floating on the complement, I sent her an IM.

"Manly?? LOL!"

"Yeah, but I'd rather have him for a manager than KK." she wrote back.

I paused. Reread it. Yup, she said that, obviously thinking the IM came from someone else.

"Nice. LOL!" I wrote back, laughing to myself. Honestly, I know she doesn't care for me and what she thinks doesn't change anything.

You could hear the air suck out from that side of the room. The IM box disappeared. Then I heard frantic typing coming from over there.

"OMG, my face is so red! I'm really sorry!" She wrote in a new IM box. There was more, but I don't remember what it said.

"No biggie, XXX. It happens." I laughed over the cube wall. Seriously, it was funny. The downside is that she was holding up my departure to head to happy hour with some girlfriends.

To her credit she came over a few minutes later and sat down to talk about it. She fears for her job if I was her manager, which surprised me. She thought I didn't like her, but I figured she didn't like me. Life is a mirror. What you give is what you get, right? Who knows where that started.

In the end, I still don't trust this person much, but I wouldn't fire her by any means. She's bright, but she does what she can to get what she wants. I see through that and I think she knows it.

Gotta love the IM, huh?