| My career spans the same 13-year period as yours, and I too have had a
number of different managers. A year ago I quit a company in part
because of my manager's style (he paid a great deal of attention to my
_project_, in fact ignoring some others, but not much attention to my
_needs_ for more staff and resources, in a highly profitable product
line where money was not an issue).
I must say that my current manager here in Storage is among the best
I've ever had. Can't put my finger on exactly why; he really does seem
impartial, hands-off, concerned when there's a problem, capable of
putting resources behind a task when it needs more 'oomph', and able to
listen to concerns without appearing to ignore them or overreact to
them. It worries me when he kids around about his retirement...
-rich
Mass Storage Engineering OEM D&SG SHR1-3/O13 DTN: 237-2124
Work: braun@leds.enet.dec.com 508-841-2124
Home: richb@pioneer.ci.net
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| I've been at Digital for 18 yrs., and have reported to 16 different
managers.
Of these managers, I would have to say that I considered 4 of them to
be EXTREMELY AWFUL. Of these 2 are still with the company according to
ELF.
I, also, considered 3 of them AWFUL (slightly less awful than the above
4). According to ELF, 2 of them are still with the company.
In addition, I considered 6 of them to be OKAY. Of this group 3 are no
longer with the company, 2 are still with the company, and one I couldn't
check on because I can't remember his last name!
And, finally, I considered 3 of them to be GOOD managers.
(Fortunately, my current boss is one of this group.)
Bits of trivia:
Of the 16 managers only 3 were women. Two of them fall into the OKAY
group, and one of them falls into the AWFUL category.
One of the men who falls into the GOOD category also happens to the
best looking person I have ever worked for, as well as one of the best
looking people I've ever met in all my years at Digital. (I guess this
bit of trivia only goes to show that good looking men can be nice
people and good managers, fwiw.) :-)
I'm a secretary so I have, of course, supported a lot of people that I
didn't actually report to. However, I have reported to 16 people in 18
yrs. I hadn't realized it was that many until I thought about it and
made a list. I think it's sort of amazing really, that it's that many!
Of these 16 managers, only 10 of them actually hired me. The other 6
were due to departmental changes.
Also, I am, of course, rating these managers in the way I felt they
managed and treated me, as a secretary. Had I worked for them in a
different capacity, such as engineer, or whatnot, I might have had a
different opinion of them. For example, I've noticed over the years
that some managers that treated me with respect and kindness, were not
well liked by the professional individual contributors. And, on the
other hand, some of the managers that I felt treated me extremely
poorly, seemed to be liked by the Wage Class 4's who reported to them.
I would, also, say that probably the two nicest people I have given
secretarial support to over the years, were not people I actually
reported to. One of them was a product manager, of Scottish ancestry,
who now works in Europe, and one of them was an English manager, from
Reading, who left Digital last fall, and whom I supported when he was
on frequent business trips to the US. I think a lot of the other
people I have supported over the years, could learn a lot about how to
treat others from these two guys. Both exceptionally nice people.
Another bit of trivia I just realized:
These 16 managers, over an 18 yr. period, took place during the course
of 11 different jobs, in 9 different organizations, and 8 different
Digital facilities.
As The Grateful Dead once said, "What a long strange trip it's been."
:-)
Lorna
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I've been with Digital for about 7 years (that includes 1
year as a contractor) and I've had 5 managers. 2 out of the
five were terrible. One treated me like absolute dirt and the
other just wasn't a good manager. I'm still great friends with
my third and fourth managers. The fourth was the best manager
I've ever had the opportunity to work with. She was a good
"people" manager as well as a business manager. Very
understanding, flexible, trusted me to do my job without her having
to oversee everything, and we were good friends too. I was more
upset when she got TFSO'd than she was. We still stay in touch
and get together for lunch from time to time. My present manager
is very similar to her. Very easy going, flexible, encourages
me to expand my horizons and as a bonus, has been teaching me
to make my own jewelry. =)
JJ
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| I have had 17 managers in the 18 years I've been at Digital. I worked at
one site for 11 years, doing basically the same work and had 11 managers!
This has occurred without my having taken 11 different jobs.
Of the ones who are no longer here, 4 left voluntarily with TFSO, 2 left
to persue better opportunities long before we invented TFSO.
Of the 17 managers, three were women. I have mostly had managers who became
managers (as I had) because that's the way the advancement track was laid
out. If one wanted more money one took the promotions that were offered.
As people, I'd have to say that most had their hearts in the right places,
even if their minds were elsewhere. As managers, I'd have to say that most
were working an agenda that didn't necessarily support the needs of those
in their groups.
The most difficult aspect of having so many managers was having to always
revalidate the projects and programs we had been working on to each new
arrival. One thing's for sure, its not easy to be a manager in 'digital'.
/Bob
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