The Email Attack

I sent out an email proposing to meet the boss man’s managers yesterday morning to discuss their requirements. I received a good note from the boss man right after I sent the mail. It was the first good note after a long while. Unfortunately Philippe came and responded to my mail by drafting a process, which I did not agree with. I had to decline his initiative because it does not conform to our process defined by my company. Meeting the boss man’s managers individually and not via a formal meeting is enough of a concession for them already. I guess I have to expect this type of reaction as I try to exert more independence. But I think Philippe is missing the point of the exercise.

The exercise is actually political in nature. The object of the exercise is to meet the manager’s and learn their needs. In case of any dispute, to raise the issue for arbitration to the boss man. It is a way for the boss man to be in control of the situation and allow the managers to directly express their needs to me but in a controlled manner. They cannot just speak out and say what they want because their feed back will be documented and presented to the boss man. The big guy will be ready to take out his big stick and whack anybody, including me, who falls out of line. But at least it will be a unique opportunity to have the boss man on my side instead of against me in the opposing side.

The main challenge now is to keep Philippe in the loop and try not to ruffle his feathers too much. He is an important part of the equation. He is a great help to us especially to the development team so I have to keep him in my side. Or at least not to push him to the opposing side. There is one manager of the boss man who is always very vocal and critical. This is the person who is the main concern. To have him and Philippe in one side is a danger, which needs to be addressed. This person is known as the noisy manager and he replied immediately to my email stating that he is available anytime for the meeting. It was this positive reaction I believe that prompted the boss man’s note that praised my email.

So the game is afoot. The exchange of emails from the boss man, Philippe, noisy manager and myself is the start of a very subtle political game, which I should have grasped long ago. But it was my emotional reaction to the tirades of the boss man during the past meetings that I missed the point. Now I begin to see the whole picture and it will be a climb back for me to get back into their good graces. I think I am a different person now than in the past years and I am ready to discern the subtleties of the situation. Principally because I now know more about their system, we have a new process of working and I have just completed my basic communication course. I did my 10th speech last night and felt that I have crossed some personal threshold. The speech was entitled ‘Transformation’.

My speech did not win any awards during the speech contest but it did not matter to me. What mattered is the benefit and experience I gained participating in the training course and contest. I think it is the experience that allows me to detect the subtleties within the event because I am now equipped to respond to the situation. It is this awareness plus the possession of the skills to respond to that new awareness. Lurking behind all these events is my former boss who is just waiting in the wings to grab the business away from me. He is a supreme opportunist and he may be orchestrating things behind my back. He may be the hidden actor in the game.