WWWPD? Work advice

[supertrooper1]

TL:DR, A crappy supervisor was just assigned to my division and I need suggestions on how to keep things from becoming a shit show and to keep me from going insane. 

I just found out who my new supervisor is going to be starting in 2 weeks. I am not happy, nor will everyone else in our small division when it is announced on Tuesday.  He has flopped as a supervisor in two other work units and this is a place to hide him since the division pretty much runs itself.  But he's a bull in a china shop and will want to make changes his way and micromanage.  My current supervisor has been awesome and just supports me by giving me the resources I need and lets me do my job.  I pretty much run my office of 4 with the day to day stuff. 

The new supervisor is the type that will throw anyone and everyone under the bus.  In the last few months, I have had to clean up messes where he has thrown people under the bus with inaccurate information.  But by the time I got involved to sort things out, it was too late and the upper management never got the truth, only his misinformation. The misinformation was because he doesn't fully understand the job and makes up conclusions in his head that must be true.  I'm worried that I'll have misinformation about the quality of my (and my team's) work and he will micromanage.  I think he's going to make busy work for me that will have zero outcome because he doesn't know what my job truly entails, and probably never will understand. 

WWWPD?  How do I keep this from being a train wreck?  I spoke with another supervisor and he suggested that I sit down with him on day one and set ground rules.  My work location is pretty informal where we make inappropriate jokes (mostly to keep the serious stuff from getting to us) and I've decided I'm not going to allow him to joke with us like that.  I know I need to draw that line right away.     

[2chatter]

I’d plan to CYA from day one. You know the pattern, don’t be a victim. If he presents misinformation counter immediately with the real information in an entirely neutral way. Recently a disorganized colleague sent an email that said something like “I have been waiting on 2chatter since April 24”. I replied “please see attached” and attached three follow ups to which the person didn’t respond. I got an apology from the person’s manager. I have become more and more direct as my career has progressed. It’s working so far.

I’m sorry, the situation sucks.

[waverly]

Since he is a known quantity and you know what will happen I would have 1. Strategies, 2. Battleplans and implementations.

Example 1: Misinformation. In the event supervisor X tells higher up misinformation these are the following 5 steps I will accomplish to counteract.
Example 2: Not understanding my job. I will ... to ensure supervisor X fully understands my job to the best of my abilities. These 5 steps are...

Doesn't have to be the number 5 just rounding up.

[mommyatty]

Document the shit out of everything. And call EEO if he starts joking in an inappropriate manner. Even if it’s common in your office, don’t put up with it from him. If you have contacted EEO, then if he tries any shit, you go back and claim retaliation. Over and over if needed.

[rere]

Document, document, document. I also like to do important conversations or at least a follow up with email. That way things can be pulled up later if needed.

[186momx]

I agree with everyone on documenting everything. I would also CC his boss on anything super important so information can't as easily get misconstrued. Hopefully he won't last long.

[supertrooper1]

I spoke to my current supervisor this morning about my concerns. He tried to be positive about the change and said the new supervisor would be under a microscope for a while. The AD making the decision didn't know about the last incident in which this supervisor stuck his foot in his mouth and it took him aback. But sadly, it doesn't sound like that will matter in the end.

[HeartofCheese]

May 14, 2018 15:26:16 GMT -5 supertrooper1 said:

I spoke to my current supervisor this morning about my concerns. He tried to be positive about the change and said the new supervisor would be under a microscope for a while. The AD making the decision didn't know about the last incident in which this supervisor stuck his foot in his mouth and it took him aback. But sadly, it doesn't sound like that will matter in the end.

I would document this conversation, too...

[mommyatty]

Something you may already know. When you document, you don’t have to provide it to anyone. You can just open a Word file or Excel spreadsheet and document time, date, what was said, how you responded. Just the facts. Then immediately email it to your personal email. This isn’t because you need it to be emailed but so you have it in case your computer crashes or something. Contemporaneous documentation is better evidence than a document created weeks or months later.