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Oh, the real frustration is I've got a senior in another dept that doesn't answer emails and texts. He is in a world of immediate chaos because everyone knows t

Oh, the real frustration is I've got a senior in another dept that doesn't answer emails and texts. He is in a world of immediate chaos because everyone knows that so you either call him three times or it doesn't ever get done.

tomrod 4y ago
Time to apply Machiavelli. This is the situation where you escalate to their boss. If you don't have the clout, have your boss or your skip-levels escalate. Don't accommodate bad behavior by others. Get email documentation so when they cause your things to break you have leverage. Fortune 500s operate this way. CxOs like the crab-in-a-bucket approach because they get to be heroes and build their empires on the corpses of failed departments they take over. Tell them exactly what you need of them and why things are breaking and they are all too happy to assist since this aligns to their incentives. If they fail to help, your department is the one that will soon be the corpse, and you can freshen the resume. (Note: I personally hate those kinds of organizational dynamics, but its one thing to find them distasteful but useful and another to deny their existence).
- projectazorian 4y ago
  > Don't accommodate bad behavior by others. Get email documentation so when they cause your things to break you have leverage. Who says it’s bad behavior? Maybe they’re at capacity and their manager told them to deprioritize requests coming from outside the team. Maybe the OP’s requests are unreasonable or better handled by someone else. Not enough information here to make a determination one way or the other. One thing is for sure, people need to stop viewing colleagues as their servants. Most people want to be helpful, if someone doesn’t help you when you ask for help, there is usually a reason.
  - tomrod 4y ago
    Requiring everyone to place three telephone calls because email / IMs are ignored is objectively bad behavior. The drivers may be varied but* the outcome remains the same. Assuming OP's claim is an accurate retelling, this person serves as a delivery roadblock and is either incompetent or lazy at managing their time and resources. Ergo, there is clear need for the OPs organization to either realign the roadblocker's priorities or to build out the functionality themselves. Roadblocker's intent to do good is immaterial -- their actions and tactics are resulting in poor outcomes for those that are required to partner with them.
bloopernova 4y ago
I know one of those too. They intentionally don't fix their "broken" deployment environment so someone else has to do anything CI/CD related. It's infuriating because their attitude reads as anything is beneath them, and they have no respect for others' time.

tomrod 4y ago

Time to apply Machiavelli. This is the situation where you escalate to their boss. If you don't have the clout, have your boss or your skip-levels escalate. Don't accommodate bad behavior by others. Get email documentation so when they cause your things to break you have leverage. Fortune 500s operate this way. CxOs like the crab-in-a-bucket approach because they get to be heroes and build their empires on the corpses of failed departments they take over. Tell them exactly what you need of them and why things are breaking and they are all too happy to assist since this aligns to their incentives. If they fail to help, your department is the one that will soon be the corpse, and you can freshen the resume. (Note: I personally hate those kinds of organizational dynamics, but its one thing to find them distasteful but useful and another to deny their existence).

projectazorian 4y ago
> Don't accommodate bad behavior by others. Get email documentation so when they cause your things to break you have leverage. Who says it’s bad behavior? Maybe they’re at capacity and their manager told them to deprioritize requests coming from outside the team. Maybe the OP’s requests are unreasonable or better handled by someone else. Not enough information here to make a determination one way or the other. One thing is for sure, people need to stop viewing colleagues as their servants. Most people want to be helpful, if someone doesn’t help you when you ask for help, there is usually a reason.
- tomrod 4y ago
  Requiring everyone to place three telephone calls because email / IMs are ignored is objectively bad behavior. The drivers may be varied but* the outcome remains the same. Assuming OP's claim is an accurate retelling, this person serves as a delivery roadblock and is either incompetent or lazy at managing their time and resources. Ergo, there is clear need for the OPs organization to either realign the roadblocker's priorities or to build out the functionality themselves. Roadblocker's intent to do good is immaterial -- their actions and tactics are resulting in poor outcomes for those that are required to partner with them.

bloopernova 4y ago

I know one of those too. They intentionally don't fix their "broken" deployment environment so someone else has to do anything CI/CD related. It's infuriating because their attitude reads as anything is beneath them, and they have no respect for others' time.