Lost and Found
Monday, February 25, 2008 at 07:14PM The short of it is, I still have yet to see my boss, nor has anyone seen him come in. Turns out he wasn't part of the headcount reduction afterall. Rather, he'd been "reassigned" to a "special project." (You were right Jason X.) No one knows what this special project is or who is sponsoring this special project. That's a pretty clear sign that he's on his way out!
That left me with a few questions I needed answers to ASAP. First and foremost, is he still my boss? Is there going to be a replacement? What does that do to the promo he submitted me for?
Just as I was thinking of the impact to me, I received a meeting invite from my boss' boss, who is the Division CIO, and it was marked URGENT! And it was right in the middle of lunch hour (of course!). The "Oh Shit/Fuck Me" look hit my face real quick! Not to mention, the meeting was due to start in 3 minutes...gotta' love the last minute meeting invites.
I entered the CIO's office and he mumbled "Have a seat...this shouldn't take too long..." No eye contact made, just the top of his head is all I could see as he rustled through a few papers scattered on his desk.
"What's up chief? Everything ok?" Heart was coming through my chest but I maintained a calm, cool, and collective attitude.
"So, I've reassigned your manager. Effective immediately, you are reporting to me directly. And I'm going to need you to pick up some of his responsibilities on top of what you've already got."
"Ok...that's just until you find a replacement for him right?"
"There will be no replacement. I do realize this could compromise the successful delivery of your other projects, so I decided to bring in another manager, who will be your peer, and the two of you could divide and conquer."
The words 'FUCK ME' must have been scrolling across my forehead like a call center marquee and all I could think was fucking great...more work, no promo, no increase, and then now having to deal with another fuck-face who knows absolutely nothing. Still keeping my cool...
"And have you already selected my new peer?"
"No. This is where I need your help..." as he reached over his desk and handed me the stack of papers he was rustling with when I first got there..."I've got a few resumes for you to review. Pick three and bring them in for interviews this week. I want this person in place by the end of March. That's all."
March?!?! Shit! First of all, it's going to take me a few days to go through the pile. And secondly, I'm going to be forced to just bring in those that can rearrange their schedules to make it in this week, which will be very limiting. Uuuuuggghhhh!!!
But of course, I responded with "Sure thing, I'll keep you posted on the selection."
To which he finally looked up at me with a cracked smile and said, "By the way, you're being promo'd, and the person you select will report to me but will have to answer to you."
Fuck yeah! This is fantastic! Now I'll just have be careful in my choosing. I know one thing's for sure, it's got to be a dude, one who is weakened by the female species, but not a total pussy and one who knows just enough to not pose a threat. Nah, I retract the latter. Let the interviews begin!!!!
Reader Comments (1)
Ah yes... The old I'm-not-going-to-replace-your-boss-so-you-can -do-all-his-work-and-not-get-his-title-or-pay trick. I know it well...