Work Happening
On Friday afternoon the Cowboy called a meeting with LEL, Tunafish and me. He told LEL and me that our department is growing and he wants us to be very capable of working well together (meaning everyone in the department, not just LEL and I). Towards that end, he's changing who we support. While I used to work for two partners - Cowboy and Nice Partner - now I'm going to work for Nice Partner and Tuna (an associate). LEL will work for Cowboy. Cowboy said this was a promotion for both of us. He said it will make our department stronger, more unified. I call bullshit. The Cowboy asked that we think about this whole thing over the weekend and get back to him on Monday. LEL said right away that she was happy to do it (of course she is, working for a partner is a promotion for her), it was fine with her, she didn't need to think about it. The two of them then looked at me. I smiled at the Cowboy, and he smiled back and nodded. Yeah, I'm not that easy. Apparently, I'm forever the difficult child. Oh well.
Here's what I think really happened. Tuna, who's been having problems with LEL, probably complained finally, to Cowboy. Cowboy likes Tuna, sees Tuna moving in a partner direction, and, wanting to keep Tuna, says "Tuna, I like you. So here's what I'm going to do for you. I'll take Loose Earlobe Lady, since I'm practically never in the office anyway. I'll give you Green."
At least, that's what I hope happened.
I'm bummed about this. Sure, I like Tuna a lot, and I'm happy to work with him. But I feel like everything was all just coming together at work. On Thursday and Friday I got through a few things that were about to make work much easier. Plus, I've noticed that on the days when Nice Partner is running me ragged with work, Tuna is often trying to get tons of work cranked out for Cowboy. So my concern is that I'm going to be killing myself trying to get everything done for both of them. When I raised this issue with the Cowboy, he said "Hey, that's the beauty of what we're doing here - if you need help, LEL will be there for you." It's not like I could tell him how much she sucks and is useless.
After talking with my father (bad advice) and my brother (better advice), here's what I think I'm going to tell the Cowboy tomorrow:
1. I love working at this firm (true).
2. I love working with him and the Nice Partner, and they're in the top four of my favorite attorneys I've ever worked for in about ten years (also true).
3. Although I feel like I'm just hitting my stride and things have just started coming together (true), I'm happy to do whatever the Cowboy thinks is best for the department, because I'm a team player (bullshit).
4. I really like Tunafish, am really psyched to work with him on a day-to-day basis, and will do my best to make sure the transition goes well (true).
5. I still have the concern I raised Friday, that I'll get slammed with work from Nice Partner and Tuna (I'll just say 'and LEL won't be available to help out') and be on my own with that.
6. Could he please clarify for me exactly what the division of labor will be, and I'll give examples of things I'm not clear on (there are things LEL and I do for the department and I'm not sure if we're switching those).
7. I just want to make sure that I'm not being demoted, and that this change is not a reflection of the Cowboy's unhappiness with my work product.
And then I'll ask for the April time off. Maybe. Wish me luck.
Here's what I think really happened. Tuna, who's been having problems with LEL, probably complained finally, to Cowboy. Cowboy likes Tuna, sees Tuna moving in a partner direction, and, wanting to keep Tuna, says "Tuna, I like you. So here's what I'm going to do for you. I'll take Loose Earlobe Lady, since I'm practically never in the office anyway. I'll give you Green."
At least, that's what I hope happened.
I'm bummed about this. Sure, I like Tuna a lot, and I'm happy to work with him. But I feel like everything was all just coming together at work. On Thursday and Friday I got through a few things that were about to make work much easier. Plus, I've noticed that on the days when Nice Partner is running me ragged with work, Tuna is often trying to get tons of work cranked out for Cowboy. So my concern is that I'm going to be killing myself trying to get everything done for both of them. When I raised this issue with the Cowboy, he said "Hey, that's the beauty of what we're doing here - if you need help, LEL will be there for you." It's not like I could tell him how much she sucks and is useless.
After talking with my father (bad advice) and my brother (better advice), here's what I think I'm going to tell the Cowboy tomorrow:
1. I love working at this firm (true).
2. I love working with him and the Nice Partner, and they're in the top four of my favorite attorneys I've ever worked for in about ten years (also true).
3. Although I feel like I'm just hitting my stride and things have just started coming together (true), I'm happy to do whatever the Cowboy thinks is best for the department, because I'm a team player (bullshit).
4. I really like Tunafish, am really psyched to work with him on a day-to-day basis, and will do my best to make sure the transition goes well (true).
5. I still have the concern I raised Friday, that I'll get slammed with work from Nice Partner and Tuna (I'll just say 'and LEL won't be available to help out') and be on my own with that.
6. Could he please clarify for me exactly what the division of labor will be, and I'll give examples of things I'm not clear on (there are things LEL and I do for the department and I'm not sure if we're switching those).
7. I just want to make sure that I'm not being demoted, and that this change is not a reflection of the Cowboy's unhappiness with my work product.
And then I'll ask for the April time off. Maybe. Wish me luck.
posted by Green at 2/12/2006 09:49:00 PM
5 Comments:
Could it be possible that the cowboy is doing this because he wants to keep a closer eye on LEL, watch her screw up so he can fire her.
He likely knows what an incompetent toady she is, and he is more capable of firing her than the nice partner.
catherine
I think catherine might have hit the old proverbial nail on the head. It's very possible, as you stated Green, that Tuna told Cowboy how incompetent LEL is, and this is his way of getting rid of her. :) Now wouldn't THAT be nice?
Good luck with getting the time in April off, and good luck to your brother with the operation then!!
V~V
Catherine is right on. That was my first thought as well... He may be HOPING that having to work for him will force her to shit or get off the pot, as it were. But he also probably knows that if she DOES fuck up, then he'll have no problem kicking her loose-earlobed ass to the curb.
Here's to hoping.
How About a raise to assuage your insecurity?
Green:
Here's what I think:
1. If you have a conflict with Tuna and Nice Partner, ask both which you should do first and tell them how long you think each will take - suggestion, pad time like an attorney. If they hem and haw, suggest that you might ask LEL to help and which project/brief, etc. you should ask her help with.
2. keep a log. Ask LEL politely (I SAID POLITELY) to help you by taking x and telling her Nice Partner/Tuna said to give her X. If she refuses, write down the date and time and what you asked her to help you with. Then, after two months (if you can hold out that long) bring your findings to Nice Partner and Tuna. If it's what I suspect, you'll have Nice Partner and Tuna comin' down on her ass. And all the while you've been nothing but a "TEAM PLAYER" or should I say "TEAM PLAYA!!"
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