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bdawn · Newbie Joined: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 1 Career Advice: +0/-0

I'll be as brief as I can...

I work for a nonprofit's Regional office. Our Executive Director, whom I reported to directly, left in early June and since then the place has been a little Lord of the Flies, if you know what I mean. We're an island of lost children.

I've only been with the organization since January, and for awhile I loved my job. I have a lot of responsibilities, more than most people in my position throughout the organization. the ED gave me these responsibilities because in the short while I was there, I more than proved I could handle them.

I've been heading up a campaign for the past few months, and recently one of my coworkers asked if she could get more involved in it. Sure, why not, I told her. The more the merrier.

So apparently this coworker is looking to take the ED position. She doesn't know I know this. Her getting that role would NEVER happen, but that's beside the point. She's been trying to take on more leadership roles in the office, which is probably why she wanted to get on the campaign.

I was out sick with legitimate food poisoning for three days. During that time a campaign meeting was held without me. This was the first meeting of its type that coworker attended.

I come back to work today and have a meeting with coworker and another colleague of ours and coworker starts going off about how terribly the campaign is going, how we're doing way too much, how we're not tracking things properly, etc. I am speechless because:

1. She seems like she is about to cry. Why, I have no idea.

2. She goes to one lousy meeting and all of a sudden she thinks she knows how to run this campaign?

3. The campaign is going very, very well, I must say. I have not worked my ass off and done an awesome job just to be told I'm shit, that's for sure.

Then coworker starts pulling out all these documents she must have taken hours of her extra time to create during the past few days. She has a tracker, a calendar, all kinds of stuff related to the campaign that I already created ages ago. WTF.

I said to her, "I really think you're too worried. I'm not worried at all. I already have all of these documents. We're handling things. I think you need to really trust us here."

Well, she's just not even going to listen to me. I think maybe she wants something to go wrong so that she can pick up all the pieces and have our National Office suddenly award her the ED position.

Now she's gone to her direct supervisor and the National staff member that will be coming into our office to serve as Interim ED starting in September and has complained to them that I don't know what I'm doing.

This is not the first time something like this has happened since the ED left. It seems like everyone is vying for power, and I am getting stepped on. The worst part is, I have no one to go to!! My supervisor is GONE!!

I could talk to someone at National, but I don't want to be a dramatic crybaby, especially not after coworker is already up in their faces whining about stuff.

Any advice?

I've thought about actually going to the former ED and asking her if she can put in a word for me. I thought maybe she could try and get these people off my back, since she knows I can handle myself and can be trusted to be left alone.

lexa10881 · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:55 am Post subject:

Going to your old boss and asking for direction may not be a bad idea. There also comes a point where, if you are in charge of something, that you have to get mad and assert yourself. From what I can discern, these people are ruthless. I recommend at least trying to be diplomatic but never trusting them, and enlisting the help of your old boss. As your old boss would have an insight that I can't have, that person would be the best advice giver.

http://www.cvtips.com/the_saboteurs.html

Randy · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:40 am Post subject:

You're clinging to the belief that reults speak for themselves and those in the position to acknowledge and reward those results are intelligent and insightful enough to see through office politics and bullshit. That's very noble and I agree it's the way it "should" be. But such is rarely the reality these days.

The short version is this: You sound like a truly decent person who lacks the desire to fight fire with fire. That means you're probably going to be working for this other person before you know it.

Tragic state of affairs....

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