Incompetent careerist with friends in high places

[DilianaDilemma]

Posting this under my temporary user name:

I'm looking for advice on how to protect myself.

Context: working a temporary assignment in addition to my regular duties. Formal brief: project manage part of a strategically important initiative. Informal brief: keep senior person, who's visibly incompetent and several equally or more senior people know, in check.

Incompetent senior colleague is, in a nutshell, uncontrollable. He's responsible for some fundamental decisions (made before I was brought in on the train wreck in the making) that are now breaking our backs. We're working on official train wreck stream in parallel with unofficial plan B stream at present. Much of this is due to me flagging issues with the feasibility of the official track in very good time.

However, I'm noticing that senior person is trying to make me the face of train wreck stream while keeping me out of anything plan B related and suspect he's trying to paint a picture that basically suggests that he came in and saved the day.

Trying to protect myself here. What I've done so far:

1. constant communications with the originators of the unofficial 'keep him in check' brief

2. constant asking about plan B stream - with as wide an audience as possible - accompanied by vocal raising of concerns about the feasibility of the official plan

3. leaving a very conspicuous paper trail

Anything I'm missing?

Added complication: senior idiot is friends with our CEO (personal connection).

In case it matters: I'm middle management. Other guy is C-level.

Any chance you can ask to leave the project? It sounds untenable and grossly unfair.

Informal brief: keep senior person, who's visibly incompetent and several equally or more senior people know, in check.

Do you have this in writing?

Have you any way to have the issues with plan a and the work on plan b discussed and recorded at board level, making sure you are the author of the board paper

Do you have this in writing?

Not the instruction as such. I do (and actively make sure to have) text messages between myself and the sponsors of the side brief that should very clearly show that I was acting in the knowledge and upon the instruction of people more senior than myself. I'm also prefacing any follow-up e-mails on the matter with 'as discussed in person / on the phone'. Basically leaving a credible trail in case questions should be asked later.

I also implicitly trust the senior exec who placed me there - both on a personal level and because (due to wider circumstances) if I take the fall for this, they have as much face to lose as myself, if not more.

And, no, I'm not getting out of this one. I asked and was told no - mainly due to the side brief. Not even if I resign. The expected duration of the disaster in the making is shorter than my notice period (and, due to a contractual non-compete clause I'd have a rather hard time getting a job at short notice without my current employer's good will).

It sounds like you're doing everything right, especially wrt the paper/electronic trail. I would hang in there and see if you come out with brownie points.

C level is always complex in my experience - you never know when someone's in the process of being managed out of the organization and you may well unwittingly be a part of that.

If the train wreck is less than your notice period, it should all be done in 3 (6?) months. Keep going....come back here for a hand hold if it gets tough(er)

Wolfcub, not in an official capacity - that's technically senior guy's job (I'm just meant to write the stuff because he couldn't if his life depended on it).

I could go above his head, I suppose. It'd mean being super upfront about the fact that I'm acting against formal protocol out of concern for the company and would arguably be a risky move.

I have shared my concerns with two board members directly in an informal manner. One of them is coming in tomorrow to go over the state of the train wreck with me because I flat out refused to take it to stakeholders without a second opinion from someone more senior than myself.

It's a really fucked up situation. Why don't they just deal with the incompetent one?

Are you at least getting a pay rise with all the extra stress?

Are you at least getting a pay rise with all the extra stress?

Ahahahahahahahahaha ... I'm sacrificing my summer holidays, actually.

In all seriousness: I'm meant to be getting a promotion (totally unrelated and known before this started) if this clusterfuck doesn't interfere at the very last second.

Just assume even with the paper trail someone won't blame you sadly. People can be pretty awful at work. Have back up plans.

Is there a way to get the promotion in the bag before the disaster happens?

Is there a way to get the promotion in the bag before the disaster happens?

Not easily. I have the contract for it but it's valid from the day after my predecessor's leaving date.

Plan B basically consists of taking a job with a client if push comes to shove. I'm sufficiently involved in a number of things in order to make this an unattractive prospect for employer without me having to so much as even think of breaching of my NDA (think 'leveraging my knowledge of key people's personality quirks in negotiations', and 'knowing the ins and outs of mutually accessible information, e.g. contracts') - and, obviously, clients are clients and hence not covered by my non-compete.

I actually do normally enjoy working here, though (did until two months ago, that is), so plan A is much favoured.

Update:

Call it the courage of desperation: I've actually managed to have the whole operation put on hiatus for half a year on the grounds that carrying on with it constitutes an unacceptable strategic risk. Train wreck stream as well as (also dodgy, as I accidentally found out today) plan B.

Translation: getting binned as soon as it's no longer on everyone's radar.

Took me a few hours of compiling of pertinent evidence and an extremely frank chat with board member who came in today, followed by a lengthy conference call with a few more after managing to demonstrate to her why we were looking at a potential financial and PR disaster.

Words can't express how relieved I am. Funny enough, there even seem to be brownie points available for tanking a strategic initiative. Something about protecting our business interest or other.

I'm okay with our business interest being served and happy I could assist - but nowhere near as happy as I am about being able to walk into the office tomorrow and informing my poor, tortured team that they and I get to do stuff that's actually achievable and enjoyable once more.

This must be what Robby the house elf felt like when given that sock!

*Dobby

Well done.

Hope that means you can distance yourself from oddball now.

I bloody hope so, too.

Unfortunately, I may have technically fulfilled my side brief in that I did, albeit in a somewhat more drastic way than originally planned, prevent him from screwing things up for us big time, so I might get asked again. They can't possibly afford the raise I'll be demanding in exchange!

On the upside: this is why I (normally) enjoy working for this company. A middle manager with a catalogue of solid arguments being able to sway the board if crucial interests are at stake is exactly what should happen according to every MBA course out there. Pulling the plug on a failing project is precisely what you're meant to do if and when all reasonable avenues to fix things have been exhausted. And yet, I keep on seeing this not happening because someone or other is scared of losing face. I'm actually quite proud of the firm I work for today.

You've handled this with aplomb and I like the sound of your organisational culture.