There's more to on-the-job performance than being right
Your methods and reasoning might be correct, but they mean nothing unless you win your bosses and colleagues to your side
Follow @ITCatalystsDear Bob ...
I hold the top rank position in the IT section of my agency. I'm an architect.
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Every year, my performance review is plagued by unsatisfactory assessments more than "meet requirements." What is often mentioned is I "talk at an MBA level." They respect my background, and I do talk at higher levels than the ordinary staff because I know I have the experience to back anything I claim to be.
The problem is that my approaches, I'm told, do not reflect our needs. When I present anything we need to do, it is either rejected or set aside; consequently, the assignment given is incomplete and reflects on my performance.
Am I wrong to approach it this way? All I'm trying to do is to point us in the right direction. My CIO and higher-ups don't consider my input becase they have their own agenda. As a result, I'm set aside and I get menial assignments not at the level of my classification.
I know my next appraisal will follow this trend. This time, perhaps, I'll be put on a timeline with HR involved.
As a professional unit, we have many shortcomings and we are overwhelmed by the work to be done. Each year, we do the our Strategic Plan. Upon completion, my job is to assess its contents agains the Service Level Agreements and recorded strategies.
I take this document and the first thing I do is evaluate its risk. The current architecture and infrastructure tell me which of these risks need to be prioritized and in what order. Then, in a form of recommendation I publicize my findings with the tactical approach that will bring our group and agency to comply with our customers' requests.
For this, I'm called something just short of lunatic. And I get another blotch.
I also do Storage Management assessments to arrest prevalent financial waste, and again, I'm crazy. Data management is plagued with inaccuracies, I offer centralization and governance. Ditto.
Why won't they pay attention?
- Voice in the wilderness
Dear Voice ...
Without watching what's going on, I have to draw some inferences. My guess: You're making a common mistake, which is that you're trying to be right, instead of trying to make the organization right enough.
Another way of explaining this: Your conclusions and recommendations are probably solid. Your attempts at persuasion are, I suspect, seriously misguided.
