Teamwork and Leadership: Part 3
11 September 2006Today was probably the most exciting day at work since coming to
Germany. Regarding the email I sent to the entire company about
refusing to sign things that were backdated, I had a meeting with my
direct engineering manager, the general manager, and the controller /
personnel manager. It was similar to the talk I had earlier with my
engineering manager alone, but this time a lot more intense. The
general manager and the personnel manager lit into me about how what
I did was completely out of line, the wrong way to do it,
unprofessional, and could jeapordize the upcoming audit. Somehow I
reveled in the intensity, fueling off the seriousness, loving the
exchanges of looks and words at the high stakes poker table.
The personnel manager also posed me some questions about parallel
situations that I might encounter in the sales area, and what I would
do. Would I sign a document with an old date to meet the purchasing
managers budget requirements if it meant the difference between
getting the contract or not. I said it was unfair to make that
direct comparison, since my email was mainly about the upcoming audit
and documents related to it.
Leadership:
At the end I held my ground, admitted that there was a better way to
do it, but took a lot of hits. One of the recurring thoughts was how
my direct manager said I have a problem with authority. I don’t
think that’s true, but I do feel that I don’t have to blindly follow
bad leadership as if I were in the military. Admittedly part of this
stems from a lack of respect for my current boss, for many reasons,
chief among them being the very unprofessional and unwelcoming first
day on the job in Germany (more on that later maybe). I feel
leadership needs to be earned and understood, reasoned with, not
bought or forced.
I was able to force a meeting for a solid half hour where we were
able to discuss this issue openly. Unfortunately the bulk of the
meeting focused on how I did what I did, as opposed to the underlying
issues that drove it. But I worry that I would not have gotten an
open ear had I not done that. All in all I don’t regret it, partly
for pushing the issue, partly for showing I can take heat, and partly
for the excitement of finally having a truly meaningful discussion at
work. I was getting really bored of the standard routine and not
high stakes issues. Additionally, both positively and negatively, I
have called everyone out, and so by default I will now be held to a
high standard, especially by my agitated boss, so I will have to work
harder and more carefully, but that’s not a bad thing.
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