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2010-5-30 03:21
The Problem
I have a new boss who is totally clueless about the business but is very media savvy and has a high profile. For the time being, she needs me as her deputy as I keep the show on the road, but as soon as she has found her feet I have no doubt that she will fire me. The company owners have fallen for her charm and image, but I am wondering if there is anything I can do to unseat her and bring on an early departure before she ruins the company.* Deputy, female, 46 Lucy's answer You complain that your boss is clueless about the business. Of course she's clueless - she's only been with the company for five minutes. Everyone is allowed to be a bit clueless at the beginning, especially if they have come from another industry. The more interesting question is whether she is healthily aware of her cluelessness and is taking steps to rid herself of it. The dangerous people are the ones who are oblivious to their ignorance and charge in making a load of terrible decisions. As you don't refer to any awful decisions that have already been made, I'm assuming that there haven't been any - yet. It sounds to me as if things are better than you suppose. If she knows that she needs you now, she recognises that she does not have all the answers already. Why do you think she will fire you when she has learnt what's what? The only reason I can think of is that you have made your loathing of her, which vibrates in every word of your e-mail to me, apparent to her. That was a mistake. If I were you, I'd try to be a bit more amiable. It is the job of the number two to support the number one. To answer your question directly: no, there is nothing sneaky that you can do to unseat her. If her bosses have fallen for her, as you suggest, they will go on being blindly smitten for a while. Anything you do to undermine her is likely to do more damage to you - and to the business - than to her. Charm is a dangerous weapon. People who win through charm get a long way - for a while. But when they are finally rumbled and it is revealed that they have been incompetent, stupid, lazy and so on, the fall from grace is ugly. The trouble is that this can take a very long time. But if, as you fear, she is pretty shallow and really only interested in her own image, she won't stay put for long. Soon she will have charmed someone else and will be off to something more glamorous. In that case, by far the best thing to do is nothing. She may turn out to be rather relaxing to work for as she glides from one TV studio to the next leaving you to run the company that you so evidently love. So long as you can bring yourself to stop hating her, it sounds like an arrangement that could work out rather nicely. Your advice Plant a rubbish idea Hand her a poisoned chalice. Get her enthusiastic about a loser of an initiative (she won't know the difference), then distance yourself from the proceedings before it becomes "your" idea. Her natural instinct will be to publicise it to death, so let her go to town on what a great thing this will be. Sit back and enjoy. Economist, male, 28 Seduce a recruiter The chances of your devising any situation that might get her fired are practically nil. She is too new. Firing her would reflect badly on whoever hired her. Even if she is totally incompetent, falsified her references, and is sidelining as a madam, it will take years and maybe never happen. The only way to ensure an early departure is to seduce a headhunter who is able to make her an even better offer. VP, male, 56 I feel for your boss I have more sympathy with the boss than you, as I've been in her position. From the day that I joined I was made to feel like an outsider. One member of my team resented the presence of a boss that was new to the industry and was waiting to stab me in the back. He threatened to resign and had a chat with my boss, with the result that half of my job was taken away and given to him. A month or two later, I found something better and resigned. Anon Request money Remind your boss of the contribution you make and ask for a pay rise. If she says "yes", then stay for the ride. If she says "no", make a sharp exit. It is an indicator that she puts the company's success down to her charm and not your hard graft. She will take credit for your successes and scapegoat you for her failures. Female, anon Get real Top management will not want to lose face and will back her up at least for long enough to ruin your career. Be realistic and start looking for a new job while you can still leverage your company's good reputation. Fund manager, female, 40 The Next Question: Am I hostile to working mothers? I edit a magazine on which many of the staff are, like me, working mothers. A sub-editor recently resigned and said in an exit interview that I was "hostile to work life/balance". In fact, this woman worked to rule around her childcare, took time off for every minor ailment of the child and looked very aggrieved when she got no pay rise that year. I'm not hostile to work/life balance. I just believe that mothers who want to get ahead must work as hard as everyone else. I do it, so I don't see why they can't. Is that unreasonable? Editor, female, 50 问题
我的新老板完全不懂公司业务，但她非常擅于与媒体打交道，知名度很高。目前，她需要我做副手开展工作，但我确信，一旦她熟悉业务后，就会一脚把我踢开。 公司所有者被她的魅力和形象折服，但我想知道能否做点什么让她下台，在她未对公司造成伤害之前让她早些离开。 副经理，女性，46岁 露西的回答 你抱怨你的老板对业务不熟悉。当然不熟悉了——她只不过才刚来公司。所有人在开始时都可以对业务有点摸不着头绪，尤其是如果他们来自另一个行业。 更令人感兴趣的问题是，她是否清醒地意识到了自己是一个生手，并在设法予以克服。那些危险的人会无视自己对业务的不熟悉，冒失地做出许多糟糕的决定。既然你没有提到她做出的任何糟糕决定，我猜想迄今她还没有这样做。 听上去情况似乎比你想象的要好一些。如果她知道现在需要你，就会意识到自己还并非无所不知。 为何你认为她在学会业务后会解雇你？我能够想到的唯一理由是，你明显流露出了自己对她的憎恶——你在给我的电子邮件中的字里行间体现出这一点。这种做法是错误的。 如果我是你，我将努力变得更友善一点。二号人物的工作就是支持一号人物。 让我直接回答你的问题吧：不行，你不能私下做任何事迫使她下台。如果她的老板们被她的魅力折服（正如你说的那样），他们将会在一定时期内盲目地信任她。你做的任何诋毁她的事情对你（和公司）造成的伤害，可能大于对她的伤害。 魅力是一种危险的武器。有魅力的人（在一定时期内）前途光明。但当人们最终识破他们，发现他们原本是无能、愚蠢和懒惰等等的人时，他们就会可怕地声名扫地。麻烦在于，这可能需要很长时间。但如果正如你担心的那样，她相当浅薄，的确只对个人形象感兴趣，她不会长期呆在原处的。很快她会让其他人为之倾倒，从而跳槽去从事更具诱惑力的事情。 在这种情况下，你最好的做法就是什么也不做。事实可能证明，她对工作相当漫不经心，忙着到电视演播室赶场子，这将让你能够经营你明显喜爱的公司。只要你能让自己不再憎恶她，这听起来是相当不错的一种安排。 读者建议 给她下套 给她一盏“金杯毒酒”。让她对一个糟糕的创意感兴趣（她将不会知道好坏创意之间的区别），随后自己不要参与项目的实施过程，以免这成为“你的”主意。 她的天性将是到处宣扬这件事，那就让她去尽情吹嘘这件事吧。 坐下来看好戏吧！ 经济学家，男性，28岁 求助于猎头 实际上，你设计的任何局面都不可能让她离职。她才刚来，解雇她将让招聘她的人难堪。 即使她完全没有能力，伪造了推荐信，并且被当作没有用的人，那也需要多年才能让她离开，她甚至可能永远不会离开。唯一能够让她早日离开的方法，是诱使一个能为她提供更好职位的猎头挖走她。 副总裁，男性，56岁 我同情你的老板 我更同情老板，因为我一直处于她的位置。从我加入公司的那天起，我就感到自己像个外来者。 我的团队的一位成员对一个行业新手当老板感到不满，正等着在我背后捅刀子。 他威胁要辞职，并与我的老板进行了谈话，结果是老板将我的一半工作分给了他。 一两个月后，我找到了一份更好的工作，于是辞职了。 匿名 要求加薪 向你的老板提醒你对公司做出的贡献，并要求加薪。 如果她答应了，那么就静观其变。如果她不同意，就赶快辞职。 这表明她把公司的成功归功于自己的魅力，而不是你的艰苦工作。 她将会抢你的功劳，并让你为她的失败承担责任。 女性，匿名 现实一点 最高管理层将不想丢脸，将会力挺她很长时间，长到至少足以破坏你的职业发展。 现实点，在你还可以利用公司的良好声誉的时候，开始找一份新工作。 基金经理，女性，40岁 下一个问题： 我对工作与生活之间的平衡抱有敌意吗？ 我在一家杂志社担任编辑，其中许多员工是工作族母亲。最近一位审稿人辞职了，她在离职面谈中说我“对工作与生活之间的平衡抱有敌意”。实际上，这个女人的工作似乎就是为了照看子女，孩子出现任何小病，她都要请假，而当她去年没有获得加薪时，显得非常愤愤不平。 我没有对工作与生活之间的平衡抱有敌意。我只是认为，希望升职的母亲必须和其他人一样努力。我是这么做的，因此我不明白为何他们不能。这不合理吗？ 编辑，女性，50岁 译者/君悦 |