4 ms·

Ask HN: My boss keeps changing projects and teams for me

1 points by fxemployeeth 3y ago

My boss is a Director of engineering and I am a staff engineer who recently joined the company. Obviously, I don't have any achievements yet. My boss is constantly changing things for me, projects, teams, stack of technology. Optimist in me thinks, maybe he needs my talent, realist is telling me, no you are not performing well and your boss is annoyed by you and keeps moving to different directions, until he gets rid of you. Need advice, if anyone can mentor me or direct me on right direction would be great.

sarcasmatwork 3y ago
>My boss is constantly changing things for me, projects, teams, stack of technology. What does that even mean? Maybe he does not realize what he is doing. Take some notes, write down some examples and have a conversation with him about what is bothering you. Sounds like he does not know what he is doing or spread thin and not realizing he is pulling you in multiple ways. Good luck!
- fxemployeeth 3y ago
  > Maybe he does not realize what he is doing Based on my knowledge and experience, he is pretty good. Problem is, I don't know how to talk and where to start conversation. I asked him if he can share a feedback for a work I am doing so far, but he is very good at hiding his emotions, praising with generic things and as an autistic, I don't get the emotions anyway. It feels like he is trying to motivate me, because he sees gap somewhere. But no exact reason has been shared, if he sees a problem or everything is good and he just needs me in different project
  - strangattractor 3y ago
    Just start with something simple and create a paper trail. It would verify that this is indeed happening and give you help in the event you have a poor review. When and if you are either forced or want to discuss it with them having a detailed data set will keep the discussion focussed on the facts and away from subjective or poorly documented criticism. > It feels like he is trying to motivate me, because he sees gap somewhere. But no exact reason has been shared, if he sees a problem or everything is good and he just needs me in different project If you decide to discuss it with them the above seems like a reasonable tact. Managers need feedback as to how what they are doing is working. Not knowing why they are doing what they are doing is making your job more difficult or stressful. It does not necessarily need to be presented as a criticism of their management style. Maybe present it as a way to better understand and do a your job.
ethbr0 3y ago
What project management system do you use? Part of the value of those is supposed to be locking in choices for some period, that allows for actual work to get done. And what period of time did this happen over? I've seen staff engineers roam pretty freely -- part of the job is being able to parachute in, get the lay of the land, contribute value, and then shift focus.
- fxemployeeth 3y ago
  > And what period of time did this happen over? I am in this company only for 4 months and he is asking me to "help"/help with other team issues. > get the lay of the land, contribute value I am trying to do this in my current team, did a research, found couple of issues, introduced some solutions, but I still see lots of things need to be improved. Part of me thinks, problem lies in me. I just need to understand what exactly is happening, if some problem, then I am more than willing to work on my skills and improve, if everything is indeed good and he just needs me in another project, then I need to evaluate the offer. I just can't understand if this is common with managers to keep pushing engineer to other teams, or does it happen rarely when manager is not satisfied
  - ethbr0 3y ago
    IMHO, your job as a higher level engineer is to: 1. Quickly understand the problem and details 2. Come up with a plan to solve the MOST IMPORTANT problem(s) 3. Work through the plan with the implementation team, to identify any gaps / things they can't do 4. Cover the gaps, to ensure the project can move forward without you 5. Regularly check-in after you shift off, to make sure it's still moving forward 2, 3, and 4 are most of your value, because they're where you can use your experience and skills to produce better outcomes. I'd care less about whether your boss likes you, and more about whether he thinks you're doing valuable work. And one way to clarify that with him would be (every time he puts you on a new project) to decide what the end goal is. Project started? Project done? Team gets over a hurdle? Then when he moves you to a new project, politely remind him of the project you're currently on, and the end goal you two discussed, the fact that it's not done, and the time until you expect it to be completed. He can still move you, but hopefully he'd start realizing he's prematurely shifting you around.
themodelplumber 3y ago
That sucks to hear about, sorry it's been a pain. It may help to make this a bit more tractable for others to weigh in on: - How long have you had the job - How often does this happen & how many times so far - How is your work with team leads or more experienced members going--are you directly reaching out to them, connecting with them, or do you land on a project and find yourself isolating for example - Are there specific achievements outlined for you by the team or project leads - Are you able to connect with others at or above your level about similar changes, and whether they experienced the same? Do they have any feedback? - Do you feel comfortable raising this topic at a high level (in terms of wording) and in a gentle, but persistent way? Just some ideas to get started, otherwise it is probably really easy to speculate in near-random directions. :-)
- fxemployeeth 3y ago
  thanks, really nice advice. > How long have you had the job 4 months > How often does this happen & how many times so far I am on 4th project already, some were easy and I already delivered, with some I need more time because a lot of things are happening in parallel > Are there specific achievements outlined for you by the team or project leads There are things I introduced and applied on my team, which is now getting followed as a best practice in the company with ~500 engineers (picked up by small subset of engineers so far), but everything I attribute to the team, our team is new and really strong, almost every week we have something good to release, people on L7+ (think about Director+) are following our team updates frequently now. > Are you able to connect with others at or above your level about similar changes, and whether they experienced the same? Do they have any feedback? I did, but everyone has generic response, we are constantly growing, everything is changing.
  - themodelplumber 3y ago
    Interesting, so it seems like quite a dynamic environment, even if those you work with seem used to it? I didn't expect to read that they are all treating it like it's nothing out of the ordinary. I know that for some, an environment like the one you described runs in stark opposition to their preferred, or even needed work environment. I know a lot of coders who work just a bit more in a calm, academic style than in the bustling / economic one, but they still work in business environments and are highly valued. Sometimes there are workarounds to isolate & address the worst parts in-place. Sometimes there are team members with whom to connect and pitch e.g. deep, calm, longer-scoped analytical work for greatly increasing general leverage, as opposed to breadth-first work which tends to be more patchy and somewhat less on the smart side. :-) But also, maybe not! Perhaps you have a good opportunity here to maintain a good hold on your job-transition tools and keep looking around, before those things get a bit rusty. Overall, it does seem wise to be asking if this is really a sustainable match for you, and if some upcoming change in this workplace for the (your) better is wise to anticipate. Perhaps this workplace will even help you identify a mental boundary for future job positions you may consider. Just some thoughts though--hope things go better for you & good luck.

1 points by fxemployeeth 3y ago

sarcasmatwork 3y ago

>My boss is constantly changing things for me, projects, teams, stack of technology. What does that even mean? Maybe he does not realize what he is doing. Take some notes, write down some examples and have a conversation with him about what is bothering you. Sounds like he does not know what he is doing or spread thin and not realizing he is pulling you in multiple ways. Good luck!

fxemployeeth 3y ago
> Maybe he does not realize what he is doing Based on my knowledge and experience, he is pretty good. Problem is, I don't know how to talk and where to start conversation. I asked him if he can share a feedback for a work I am doing so far, but he is very good at hiding his emotions, praising with generic things and as an autistic, I don't get the emotions anyway. It feels like he is trying to motivate me, because he sees gap somewhere. But no exact reason has been shared, if he sees a problem or everything is good and he just needs me in different project
- strangattractor 3y ago
  Just start with something simple and create a paper trail. It would verify that this is indeed happening and give you help in the event you have a poor review. When and if you are either forced or want to discuss it with them having a detailed data set will keep the discussion focussed on the facts and away from subjective or poorly documented criticism. > It feels like he is trying to motivate me, because he sees gap somewhere. But no exact reason has been shared, if he sees a problem or everything is good and he just needs me in different project If you decide to discuss it with them the above seems like a reasonable tact. Managers need feedback as to how what they are doing is working. Not knowing why they are doing what they are doing is making your job more difficult or stressful. It does not necessarily need to be presented as a criticism of their management style. Maybe present it as a way to better understand and do a your job.

ethbr0 3y ago

What project management system do you use? Part of the value of those is supposed to be locking in choices for some period, that allows for actual work to get done. And what period of time did this happen over? I've seen staff engineers roam pretty freely -- part of the job is being able to parachute in, get the lay of the land, contribute value, and then shift focus.

fxemployeeth 3y ago
> And what period of time did this happen over? I am in this company only for 4 months and he is asking me to "help"/help with other team issues. > get the lay of the land, contribute value I am trying to do this in my current team, did a research, found couple of issues, introduced some solutions, but I still see lots of things need to be improved. Part of me thinks, problem lies in me. I just need to understand what exactly is happening, if some problem, then I am more than willing to work on my skills and improve, if everything is indeed good and he just needs me in another project, then I need to evaluate the offer. I just can't understand if this is common with managers to keep pushing engineer to other teams, or does it happen rarely when manager is not satisfied
- ethbr0 3y ago
  IMHO, your job as a higher level engineer is to: 1. Quickly understand the problem and details 2. Come up with a plan to solve the MOST IMPORTANT problem(s) 3. Work through the plan with the implementation team, to identify any gaps / things they can't do 4. Cover the gaps, to ensure the project can move forward without you 5. Regularly check-in after you shift off, to make sure it's still moving forward 2, 3, and 4 are most of your value, because they're where you can use your experience and skills to produce better outcomes. I'd care less about whether your boss likes you, and more about whether he thinks you're doing valuable work. And one way to clarify that with him would be (every time he puts you on a new project) to decide what the end goal is. Project started? Project done? Team gets over a hurdle? Then when he moves you to a new project, politely remind him of the project you're currently on, and the end goal you two discussed, the fact that it's not done, and the time until you expect it to be completed. He can still move you, but hopefully he'd start realizing he's prematurely shifting you around.

themodelplumber 3y ago

That sucks to hear about, sorry it's been a pain. It may help to make this a bit more tractable for others to weigh in on: - How long have you had the job - How often does this happen & how many times so far - How is your work with team leads or more experienced members going--are you directly reaching out to them, connecting with them, or do you land on a project and find yourself isolating for example - Are there specific achievements outlined for you by the team or project leads - Are you able to connect with others at or above your level about similar changes, and whether they experienced the same? Do they have any feedback? - Do you feel comfortable raising this topic at a high level (in terms of wording) and in a gentle, but persistent way? Just some ideas to get started, otherwise it is probably really easy to speculate in near-random directions. :-)

fxemployeeth 3y ago
thanks, really nice advice. > How long have you had the job 4 months > How often does this happen & how many times so far I am on 4th project already, some were easy and I already delivered, with some I need more time because a lot of things are happening in parallel > Are there specific achievements outlined for you by the team or project leads There are things I introduced and applied on my team, which is now getting followed as a best practice in the company with ~500 engineers (picked up by small subset of engineers so far), but everything I attribute to the team, our team is new and really strong, almost every week we have something good to release, people on L7+ (think about Director+) are following our team updates frequently now. > Are you able to connect with others at or above your level about similar changes, and whether they experienced the same? Do they have any feedback? I did, but everyone has generic response, we are constantly growing, everything is changing.
- themodelplumber 3y ago
  Interesting, so it seems like quite a dynamic environment, even if those you work with seem used to it? I didn't expect to read that they are all treating it like it's nothing out of the ordinary. I know that for some, an environment like the one you described runs in stark opposition to their preferred, or even needed work environment. I know a lot of coders who work just a bit more in a calm, academic style than in the bustling / economic one, but they still work in business environments and are highly valued. Sometimes there are workarounds to isolate & address the worst parts in-place. Sometimes there are team members with whom to connect and pitch e.g. deep, calm, longer-scoped analytical work for greatly increasing general leverage, as opposed to breadth-first work which tends to be more patchy and somewhat less on the smart side. :-) But also, maybe not! Perhaps you have a good opportunity here to maintain a good hold on your job-transition tools and keep looking around, before those things get a bit rusty. Overall, it does seem wise to be asking if this is really a sustainable match for you, and if some upcoming change in this workplace for the (your) better is wise to anticipate. Perhaps this workplace will even help you identify a mental boundary for future job positions you may consider. Just some thoughts though--hope things go better for you & good luck.