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?

i think the angle i was coming in at was overall whats more important the chain of command or keeping the client, but also another thing that is common is when a client has a person they connect well with in x company they usually will only prefer that person even if the management of that company wants other workers to do business with the client and as such if the op or worker did change companies then in the business world it has been known that clients have followed the person they had the contact with eg the op, if its the same industry and they can get similar service

ill admit i could have made my points better than i did

If OP gets sick, goes in maternity leave or just has a difference of opinion at some point with someone senior at the client, the company is left in a very vulnerable position if she has gatekept access to them in the way she is currently doing.

The client is not going to be lost if @didgeridooodoo brings her boss alongside herself to meetings! Nowhere has it been suggested that the account is moved away from her completely. Just that she doesn’t get to be the sole face of the company with this client.

that i get but then if she is preferred by the client then how can the op be at fault then ? plus i would presume the client would work around that ?

true but again if the op is the contact the client wants or likes or prefers then the boss would still be side-lined either way ?

The client is in crisis. The boss was brought in for a reason. Yes, the boss should be talking with OP about how to handle the client together, but sometimes we have to manage up.

OP, just communicate. Schedule a 30 min call with her and say, “Could we talk about how to manage client going forward? I’m used to handling them alone and wondered if I should make adjustments to my way of working now that you are working with me, too.”

Treat your relationship with her like it’s is important! You might be working with her a long time.

This is silly. I’m a client. I working closely with two people every day. Their boss joins a few times a week. The higher boss is involved once a week. They are all valuable to me and I never view them as there for the same purpose. Not once have we thought “What’s she doing on this call?” Or “Why does he care?”

if I have questions I just say “What is her role?”
or “When should I contact him?”

They add one another on many emails and meetings for our account. I barely notice now. They listen and contribute when it makes sense.

it may seem silly but its not unheard of in the business world, especially if one person puts all the hours in knows the client more than the boss and the boss is there more as pointed out part of the chain etc, and in that case if i was a client why would i discuss anything with the boss, if the worker knows more than the boss ?

The ultimate objective of a business is to preserve and grow profitable client relationships. Internal hierarchy should support that objective rather than undermine it.

point in case : JPMorgan recruited a Merrill Lynch advisory team managing approximately $28 billion in client assets because those advisers had deep client relationships.

Ultimately though as far as @didgeridooodoo is concerned, not just her own boss but her boss’s boss has mandated that the boss be hands on and involved in there meetings. So @didgeridooodoo ignores that direct management instruction at her own peril.

if she thinks the client would come with her if she went elsewhere, she also needs to think how many other clients would and would enough do so to sustain a new role. Bearing in mind only about 40% of what people think are their solid book do usually end up following a client lead out the door. She also needs to be careful about restrictions in her contract with her existing company which will prevent her soliciting business from their existing clients for a period and definitely will prevent her taking information from one company to another.

Personally based on what she’s posted I think @didgeridooodoo is being naive but she has to make her own decisions here

@didgeridooodoo apologies for my waffling but overall : dont see this as a contest between you and your manager. Your value to the company isn't diminished because someone else is involved. In fact, if you demonstrate that you can successfully integrate your manager into an already strong client relationship, you'll be seen as someone who thinks beyond their own role and acts in the company's interests.

That said personally, I'd focus less on the politics and more on becoming the person the client instinctively trusts because of your expertise, reliability and understanding of their business. Keep your manager copied into everything, involve them where appropriate and never give anyone grounds to say you've cut them out. But at the same time, become so valuable that when the client has a difficult problem, your name is the first one that comes to mind. Influence earned through competence is far more durable than authority granted by a job title, and if the client consistently asks for you because you deliver the best outcomes, management is far more likely to work with that reality than against it.

Now that I do agree with, and employees who behave in this way are much more likely to progress quickly through the ranks.

thank you, its like everyone in the office needs a copy of the book 48 laws of power and a Machiavelli's the prince for office politics.

Thanks for everyone's comments. Update, client is now coming to me and saying Boss isn't supporting/ delivering as she was supposed to be working with Senior Client on something important this week (where she has the specialist knowledge)and has been incommunicado!

I know some of you think I'm the one to blame here and I'll take the feedback on the chin but I really think Boss has checked out and shit may hit fan soon. I've sent Boss the work I've done on project but we do all need her input- me + client, to resolve this as there is an important deadline tomorrow.

I want to step back from the politics now as if Senior Client goes to Big Boss, I don't want Boss to think it's my fault.

To reiterate I have no issue with Boss being involved in this project and was actually looking forward to learning from her greater experience but she's massively checked out in my opinion and it could lead to consequences for client.

Big boss wants her more involved, not necessarily to ‘lead’, so it’s your job to copy her in, forward communication and include her in meetings when the client isn’t doing so. It’s your job to involve her.

There’s zero point feeling resentful about it. Do what your bosses want you to do, because that’s precisely your job.

If the boss isn't responding, then the main priority becomes ensuring the client receives the service not preserving appearances which is part of the problem i was attempting to explain earlier.
hope it goes well op

Uhoh. This is classic FAFO and unfortunately having set this all in motion, now stepping back is going to do you no favours whatsoever!

you need to think through what’s likely to happen next and do everything you can to mitigate fall out.

1. might the client sack the company over this. If they do, you are screwed. Your immediate boss has total deniability - they weren’t even told about a lot of what you were doing and you had assured them it was all under control. Your fault the client was lost.
2. the client complains to big boss that your boss has let them down, your boss throws you under the bus for all the above reasons. Any attempt by you to save the day with the client looks like you deliberately caused the issue to undermine your boss. You’ve lost the trust of everyone here.
3. best case scenario is you work with your boss now to fix the issue giving them the FaceTime they always should have but absolutely not cutting and running and leaving them to hold the mess alone. You might keep the client. You might go someways to repairing the situation you’ve caused with your new boss. Big boss might never find out (but probably will!)

This kind of office politics never ends well as you are finding out. But cutting and running now it’s blown up in your face is guaranteed to make things worse. I guess you are now starting to find out why your boss’s boss wanted you to be a grown up and being your boss in visibly from the outset and why they thought this one was above your pay grade!

Excuse me, but I'm not the cut and runner here! I'm the one who actually cares about the consequences for the client. I think you have misunderstood...

Is your boss just not very good- you might be taking this personally but it might just be her.

You are in a tricky situation, but you can manage it.

I’d send an email to boss and outline what you’ve provided so far. Make it clear you don’t have any tasks and the ball is in her court.

Something like:
”Anne is expressing concerns about the deadline today and looking to hear from you.

Please let me know if you need me to do anything.”

But you’re not really letting her do that tbf

You literally said in the post I quoted. “I want to step back from the politics now” and that you wanted the big boss to blame your boss not you! You can’t have it both ways.

For whatever reason, you have created a situation unnecessarily which you thought would showcase your own capabilities at the expense of your boss but which has ended up blowing up in both your faces. You don’t get to step away at this point without consequence. That’s not how these things work. Are you quite young by any chance?

You're WRONG because its all been sorted out now and we are buds again and both working closely with client. Had a heart to heart and sorted it all out.

Young at heart !

Great outcome!