Boss gone frosty... yes it's an office politics one!

[didgeridooodoo]

I'm on a project with an external client that I usually work closely with. Normally I'm quite self sufficient need little supervision from my boss who is relatively new in so doesn't know client half as well as I do, I'm their main/ regular go to person.
Recently there's been a crisis situation with client so the big boss has told my boss to get more closely involved. Fine by me, she has more experience in this particular matter. However, client has been coming directly to me for info, inviting me to meetings not her etc and I reckon it's got her nose out of joint.

I would have raised this with her in a 'i feel like I've been put in a bit of an uncomfortable situation ' type way but she's kind of stopped communicating, we had a friendly cordial relationship before but she's gone a bit frosty and non responsive.

The last meeting with client, she set up the meeting and invited me but she barely spoke. I think now I've been in some meetings she hasn't been i am seen as the lead in this by the client but its not a situation of my choosing. Also I have more knowledge of clients operations than she does.

I'm happy for her to lead on this but equally I'm not going to step away from doing a good job ( and I've had good feedback) because her ego may be bruised.

Usually I'm just left to get on with things with minimal involvement, she barely interacts with client who will normally go to big boss if they need to escalate things.

What to do, or should I just leave things abd not actively do anything?

For starters just defer a bit - include her in emails, check with her, ask her how she wants to play it.

I really resent having to massage a dented ego when I've done nothing to cause this but you're probably right. We are now supposed to be working on an aspect of the project 'together' at client's request but she's not said what I'm doing/she's doing etc and I don't feel like I should be the one to push for resolution as it may come across like I'm trying to take control. Think I'll just get on with it independently until she comes to me to either say what I'm doing or ask me what I've done.

Take the initiative and communicate with her.

Tbh it doesn't sound very professional of you. You're chummy with the client yourself and not helping to smooth the relationship between new boss and client. You've been told by big boss to work together, so you should be including your new boss in emails and meetings, deferring big decisions to her and at least running by her your plans and actions rather than just 'getting on with it independently'.
İt all sounds a bit territorial. Do you resent a newby coming in and telling you how to do YOUR job?

I don't resent it actually, as she has more experience in this matter. This is coming more from the client than me, anyway I have emailed her this week about something to do with the project and she's acknowledged it but seems to have checked out if I'm honest.

Isn't it het job to lead on this and sort out who's doing what?
I'm going to send her my initial work/ thoughts on the brief and then leave the ball in her court. She can choose to contact client to take this forward but she's not doing.

She shouldn't need to come to you, as you're doing the work you should just consult and update.

It does seem like you're being a bit difficult about this.

But I don't know that I am doing the work. She hasn't clarified anything. As it is I will send her what I've done for review and then she can't say she's been cut out the loop. She's cutting herself out the loop in my view.

I think you're being far too rigid with the whole "boss -> subordinate" thing to be honest.

They're just colleagues, but ones who get the final say. I'll happily lead on something they're also involved in, give them tasks to do if needed, happily disagree with them on the best way to go about something. And then if they want me to stop, or do something differently, then I will, because they're the boss.

In the situation you're in at the moment, I'd just book in a quick meeting with them and address the issue head on. Literally just ask "Are we good? Our working relationship seems to have changed, particularly around this client. I just wanted to check whether I'm working the way you want on this, or if I should be doing something differently."

I wonder if she’s trying not to step on your toes given this is your area of work. I’d actively seek her advice, take discussions to her, make sure she’s included in meetings etc. You’re colleagues who are expected to work together, so actively work with her.

If she is not being invited to meetings, or missed off emails etc surely it is your role as a colleague to make sure she is included if you notice the omission. I had this will a colleague that sometimes she'd be missed off, I just forwarded on the email or put her in the reply. Also I'd forward on any meetings where she was required. Not hard to do.

Recently there's been a crisis situation with client so the big boss has told my boss to get more closely involved. Fine by me, she has more experience in this particular matter. However, client has been coming directly to me for info, inviting me to meetings not her etc and I reckon it's got her nose out of joint

Did you not invite your colleague to the meetings, explaining her area of expertise? I’d have said to the client I’m just going to bring X into the discussion, she has experience with Y so will have some useful insights.

If you’ve not brought her in, you’ve created the situation so it’s yours to try and resolve.

Agree with asking this question: I just wanted to check whether I'm working the way you want on this, or if I should be doing something differently.

I wouldn't refer to any difficulties, just stop contributing to them!

Is it possible the company could be interested in how you are as a team player? Personally I would be wary of being so difficult with a senior colleague.

One was very last minute with someone very senior I was drafted in with literally minutes to spare, and it wouldn't have been appropriate for me to include her without checking it out with the meeting organiser and there was no time.Anyway I've messaged her now, no reply, I feel like I'm being penalised for the client going direct to me now and I'm fed up of it if I'm honest. I worked with client independently before joining her team so I do have a lot of history with them which it seems is now working against me.

It’s not the history with the client working against you, it’s not including your boss. Even for a “minutes to spare” meeting I’d be saying I need to bring in X, ill see if she’s free or we can reschedule.

You sound resentful of the new boss, and you may feel justified in that but there were better ways to handle her inclusion in the project, which you were instructed to do. In your shoes I’d be making sure she’s in every meeting and receives every piece of information she needs to work effectively on the project regardless of whether you think you can deal with it better.

In your shoes I’d be making sure she’s in every meeting and receives every piece of information she needs to work effectively on the project regardless of whether you think you can deal with it better.
Agree with this.

I'd just keep her updated regularly with your progress and plans. She can reply if she wants any changes. I'm sure she'll appreciate you keeping her in the loop.

You are behaving like it's your own separate client for you as an individual. Your organisation holds this client and you are just the current account lead. Because there was judged to be a need for more hands on attention - from THE ORGANISATION - not from you - Helen Boss, Director of Whatever, has been tasked to spend more time on the account along with you, the known and experienced account manager. This has been decided by Derek Bigboss the CEO in the interests of client servicing.

When this decision was taken you and Helen Boss should have decided together what to communicate to the client about the new division of labour. No pulling rank or flexing expertise, just a nice collegiate discussion to decide how to show the whole team to irs best advantage and ensure you both play tp youe strengths. Ensuring the client knows how meetings, decisions, and general accountability for the work will.happen going forward. A new RASCI maybe. And the client should have had the opportunity to talk it through with you both, make suggestions and air any concerns and ask questions. It's all in the relationship, always - if there were problems with the account this is a perfect stocktaking moment to get out in the open any festering issues from them, even minor niggles, and show that you can resolve them.

What seems to have happened is that neither of you actually took that account overview and did what was best for the client. You just wanted it all to stay the same; and she seems unclear what value she has been asked to add.

Or - and this is possible - part of the problems with the account are something to do with you?? And she is actually there to check up on your work, maybe not the technical work but something else, something strategic? I've had great account leads who are fine with their client but don't think beyond that task to loop the work back into the business in an effective way which actually works for the organisation as well as the client.

Fundamentally you work for your organisation not for your client - it's on you to create a seamless united front of your team so the client gets a good experience and doesn't feel like you are fragmented and huffy with each other. Furthermore, your roles should be very clear so the client knows what actual value for money they are getting from each different person working on the account!

You can sit back and say "Well Helen Boss and Derek Bigboss should have thought of that and provided me with a plan and clear instructions" but that rings alarms for me - I would expect someone at the front line of the client relationship, as you are, to be making this happen proactively.

God, I’ve come across people like you multiple times in my career and they are exhausting!

As a PP has clearly explained, your responsibility is to the company who employs you not the client. If your employer wants you to handle the interactions with that client in a different way, then that’s what you do. Even if it means that the client is handed over completely to someone else in the company and you are redeployed to other clients or roles.

I know you think you are competent and highly thought of by this client - you may or may not be right about that - but in my experience people like you are your own worst enemies. I’ve rarely seen anyone with your current attitude be promoted swiftly through the ranks, and whilst there isn’t anything in what you have posted which makes you particularly vulnerable to a disciplinary or a PIP, if the company restructures that’s often the opportunity to get rid of your kind of employee. I’ve also seen (and in some cases initiated) protected conversations to get rid of people with zero respect for the chain of command as they strangle the company’s ability to change how they deliver a service or optimise revenue and are generally quite toxic to work with.

For all your explanations about “last minute invites from senior people at the client” the behaviours you are describing are textbook vain, non self-aware employee and your boss and her boss will have seen your type before!

do what it takes to keep the client with the company, and if that means your the project lead with the client then so be it, bottom line its keeping the company and the client together that means more than a bosses ego.

but without clients to support or use the business then theres no business for the company, whats to be achieved by annoying the client and potentially losing the clients business especially if the contracts are worht ££££ yes it may not be idea as to who the lead contact is with the client but if its the person the client wants as their contact then basically tough shit to management

😂😂😂. Generally speaking clients are not “ticked off” by having interest shown in their accounts by senior people at the service provider. Particularly when a problem has arisen with the account and said senior person has the skills and experience to resolve this.

another point what happens when a person who handles various high ticket clients so to speak, gets shafted by management because some other bosses want in on the action, then joins a competitor and takes those or those clients then jump and follow that individual to their new company ?

but why should the egos of bosses get in the way of employee and client management just to suit egos ? especially as it seems the client in this case seems to want the employee they have as their contact rather than their boss ?

I’d say it’s the other way around. This is @didgeridooodoo‘s ego getting in the way of the boss’s very legitimate objective of expanding and diversifying the team working with this client both to add skills the OP doesn’t have but also yes to retain the client if OP leaves and goes elsewhere

But it's about communication with the client. If the client values the work OP does let them say so - then management has to listen and say great OP can be day to day manager and Boss will be signoff of x yz deliverables. Or whatever means they get more value from Boss being there. At the moment the client will just leave because nobody is looking at it from their perspective. We can't tell if it's OPs.ego, the boss's ego, both or neither here.