
Ask HN: Patronizing co-worker - a PHB in the making? - iamnobody
First, some backstory: despite having a good few years experience, he wasn't living up to the development standards in the shop, so was quickly turned into a project manager of sorts (classic), dealing with clients and stuff to ease the load on the owner.<p>First day after the announcement he comes in a suit and tie (normal outfit for everyone was t-shirts + jeans). Now, he's somewhat clueless as a project manager, everyone knows it, and for the most part he tries to be reasonable, but he seems to have embodied an "I'm a manager", entitled pose. He actively tries to have the last (meaningless) word on meetings/reports/discussions and generally makes it sound like he has harder responsibilities than everyone else. He sends out "thanks for your hard work" e-mails though he doesn't actually <i>managed</i> anything.<p>So, the work is all well, but this is ultimately nurturing some negativity. Now he's being brought aboard some new projects while the devs are left out of the loop, though he has no merit. It's like I'm watching the stereotypical pointy-hair manager being created right in front of me. What is there to do?
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pasbesoin
The sooner you deal with this, the better. Dev's being cut out of the loop --
particularly combined with his cluelessness and lack of real contribution --
is a big warning sign. In this, you can see that things are already getting
worse. Expect that to continue, unless the situation is rectified.

As for responsibility: He's the one who, frankly, started acting like a douche
(or, finally started showing his true colors). He's the one who,
fundamentally, needs to change. Yeah, you may be willing to work with him in
an honest effort. But don't start thinking that this is _your problem_. It's
your problem to deal with -- meaning him -- but it's not your problem to adapt
to his self-serving douchiness.

Get together with the team, break out the clippers, and sheer down those
points. ;-)

P.S. If things don't change, it's going to come down to "he goes, or I go",
sooner or later. (Whether to a different firm, or -- in a larger organization
-- to a different team that has no interaction with him.) Otherwise, prolonged
misery.

Also, right now, his credibility -- unreal as it may apparent to your knowing
eyes -- is limited. The longer things continue, the more valuable he may end
up looking to management. And the harder your argument becomes to make. This
is why living with the status quo is a losing proposition for you.

Finally, this is just my personal opinion. I may be wrong. But I've put up
with some douches, and it mostly always only seemed to keep getting worse.
Until I got out.

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caw
The first thing I thought of after the suit + tie was that he was dressing the
part and trying to distinguish from being 'one of the gang' which could lead
to problems down the road (which is why some companies won't let a co-worker
become the new boss, they'll transfer someone new in).

Then I got to the second part which led me to think that he got dropped into a
position that he has no earthly idea on how to do and is just struggling to
try to maintain a position of authority and get some sort of hold on your
team, who appears (to him) to be subverting him. How can you manage if no one
will let you manage? While you could see there's some solutions to that, it's
difficult to see when you're the one in the fire. The hard work emails could
simply be a (potentially failed) attempt at positive reinforcement. From your
perspective he doesn't do anything, but perhaps it's because you're unaware of
what he does, either because you're unfamiliar with the responsibilities or he
doesn't broadcast it.

Or he could be a PHB in the making and it's exactly what you're thinking.

In either case, you've got a few options.

1) Direct feedback. In a 1 on 1 meet with him and figure out what it is that
he does, give him some positive feedback on what he does, some negative
feedback. This feedback could also be anonymous (depending on the size of your
team and how well he knows writing styles)

2) Is it possible to go to the next person up on the totem pole and give your
feedback? This could protect you from a confrontation and yet still convey the
information.

3) Perhaps he should work with a mentor in the company to learn from someone
more experienced? There's a few ways to arrange this depending on your
relationships in the company, but either asking him about his mentor (which
should cause him to think about getting one if he doesn't have one), or asking
someone else to become his mentor, or asking his boss to assign him one to get
him brought up to speed.

The goal shouldn't be to nail the guy to the wall but instead work with him to
improve the team. I've worked with a guy who was a "C" employee in one
position, but more "B" in another. This transfer could be his chance to be a
more productive member of the team.

