Seeking Feedback on Approaching Leadership as an Overqualified, Underutilized Employee
Posted by skate-and-code@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 23 comments
I am seeking feedback on how to approach leadership regarding my current predicament as an overqualified and underutilized employee at a non-profit organization. The title may come off as uppity, but I hope the provided context lends some propriety. Ultimately, I'm looking for guidance on how best to voice my concerns to upper management.
I joined my first IT position as a help desk specialist approximately 13 years ago. Unfortunately, the way IT was managed then was woefully misguided, but as a newcomer, I didn't know any better and did what I was told. Over time, I managed to adapt and broaden my skill set in various roles and at different companies, but life events (personal changes and layoffs) led me back to the same organization where leadership remained unchanged.
Despite some improvements since my last visit, such as a competent MSP managing infrastructure and call-in support and an intelligent IT manager without decision-making authority, I find myself stuck in a rut when it comes to executing initiatives due to a lack of an IT advocate with authority. The IT manager, the MSP, and I have numerous initiatives we want to pursue, but without an IT stakeholder involved in decisions, progress is non-existent.
One (latest) example of this problem is the implementation of FoxIt to solve e-signature issues. Without involving IT in discussions about current workflows, problems to be solved, or gathering feedback, leadership made a decision that has already resulted in limitations with licensing options and the need for an upgrade just weeks after deployment. The obvious solution is upgrading the license, but instead of accepting this recommendation, my IT manager's boss asked me to find a workaround for their problem. I politely declined because adding another complexity on top of a new solution isn't the best path forward.
What frustrates me is that leadership asks for workarounds after knowing there was a licensing issue, seemingly pushing their mistake off onto me. Despite my intentions to leave as soon as I find a better opportunity, I feel obligated to confront upper management and provide them with feedback in hopes of gaining some relevance in the decisions being made.
I appreciate your time and any feedback you can provide on what might be missing or needs clarification. Thank you!
just_change_it@reddit
Get a new job. That's how you fix your situation.
If you want to have ammo to remove a mismanager, you need to do what managers do, document, document, document. If there isn't a paper trail it never happened.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
100% agree. I intend to. And it's clearly known throughout the org. that my place here is temporary. I have rapport with the CEO and I agree with the vision of the company because it actually helps people in need. Still, I feel compelled to at least voice the matter even if it doesn't change anything.
Yeah, you're right. I keep the receipts and I use them daily. I want to be my boss's advocate because of the unique nature of who I am as it relates to the company's leadership (read, nepotism). I'm not going to be at this company for much longer but my boss likely will be. And I want to at least say what he has tried to his boss and to leadership. Will it be productive? Probably not, but maybe.
Something I didn't include in my initial post was the nature of who I am in the company. There's a false representation on how people view my boss at this company, and the same can be said for me. For me, people know my relationship with the CEO and treat me differently, but because of my role, I don't have any authority to make changes. People treat my boss differently, because he asks probing questions and it's viewed as being combative. I can promise you he is a genuine, respectful and extremely nice individual. I'm truly baffled why people view him in this light. But they do.
Ultimately, the CEO I have a family-like relationship with is retiring and a new one's starting in a month. I'm wondering if there's any opportunity here to voice myself during this transition in a way that I leverage my unique position. That's the true nature of this post. I know I need to move on. That should have went without saying...
jdptechnc@reddit
You might think you have leverage. You don't.
You could just as easily rub the new CEO the wrong way and be moved out for his nephew who 'knows computers'.
j2thebees@reddit
You didn’t like the way it was being managed, you left, you came back.
Your problem is one of authority, not lack of skill, commitment, work ethic, etc.
I worked at a college where various ppl would go to a conference, get sold on some software, cut a deal “it’s well within my budget”, having never once called or emailed dbas, admins, etc.
DBA would sit on projects, and keep low in the priority tree, due to not being consulted. If you’re not sitting in that chair where you decide how the orgs tech queue gets processed, then go back to my first sentence.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
This is a post about me trying to confront an audience who has little interest in the minutiae of IT; so I can forgive the disingenuous way in which you summarized my experience.
DBA would sit on projects, and keep low in the priority tree, due to not being consulted. If you’re not sitting in that chair where you decide how the orgs tech queue gets processed, then go back to my first sentence.
I'm not clear on the allegory within your message, but I suppose there's truth in me having "authority" issues at this particular company.
Ultimately, I was hoping for people to provide some ideas on professional confrontation whether it actually invokes change or not. But I can understand why the general consensus here is the "do as your told" mantra.
Thanks for your story.
wells68@reddit
You are trying the straightforward approach, telling the truth, showing the numbers (presumably) and quantifying the cost-savings and time-savings. And you are getting nowhere. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” link (Hint: It was not Einstein.) Glad you are here looking for a different thing!
All I can think of is going outside of the box (the management). That, of course, is risky. One thought, perhaps far-fetched, is to find a potential big donor interested in improving the efficiency of an organization they believe in after you explain the wonderful mission. They could have a conversation with management. Of course you could get fired for going outside the box!
Ssakaa@reddit
So, in your comments/responses you cover pretty much that... while you, yourself, would benefit a bit from addressing this, your boss, the IT manager without decision making authority, would be the real person that needs to benefit from it. While putting in a good word on the side can help shift things a little, that's about as far as it goes for being able to fight someone else's battle for them, nepotism or not, if you're not in the line of leadership above them (where fighting for them is actually your position to do).
If they need to be trusted with more authority, they need to act the part, and resolving conflicts, image/perception issues, and being authoritative on relevant topics in discussions are all critical parts of that. It's all sales under the facade, which sucks, but it is what it is. If leadership isn't including your boss in the discussions about technology, leadership doesn't feel they're going to be a positive contribution in those discussions.
I suspect you hit the nail on the head with the word "combative". Your boss is a "no" person in leadership's eyes. Your boss may be able to overcome that with the leadership change, and you abusing nepotism to proactively talk tech with the new leadership, while roping in the boss as part of it can potentially be a catalyst to give them the chance to.. but your boss has to actually realize that they are ultimately the source of the perception there about their tone. Being right doesn't matter at all if noone's listening.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
Yeah, it's a shame there's so much ego and misplaced resentment in business regardless if it's a fortune 500 business or a philanthropic non-profit.
I'll plan on updating my resume and talking in a mirror this week.😆
macemillianwinduarte@reddit
This is something your boss should be doing. It isn't really your place. Provide the feedback to your manager.
This is besides the fact that you are telling leadership you won't do the things they ask you to do. I am not sure how open to feedback they will be.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
Yup, I'm well aware this isn't my lane. My boss and I lament daily to one another about the current state. He's tried stating our case in different ways but has been met with hostilities and was recently written up for asking too many questions and was labelled as being combative. Mind you, this is one of the nicest people I've worked with in our profession.
Ultimately, I figured the feedback here would be a resounding "do your job and move on". Was curious if any one had ideas on how to just present these grievances to leadership effectively.
Thanks for the feedback.
cpz_77@reddit
Honestly if your boss has already voiced his concerns or ideas and got written up for it then most likely the path forward will be very difficult. One card you could possibly play though, if you want, is try to appeal to your CEO directly in a sort of informal conversation (I’m only suggesting this because I saw you mentioned in another comment you have a somewhat close relationship with them). Normally this would be a big no no. But if you truly have a good relationship with the CEO and you think they would be receptive then try just casually bringing up one thing - pick one that is most important to you - and try to pitch them a solution on that.
If you can get them to give you a chance and it goes well, that may open up the door for upper leadership to be more receptive in the future (especially if the CEO will support your ideas based on positive outcomes in the past). Remember when talking to execs tho you have to put it in a language they understand (i.e. money). Show them how much it will save the company in the long run to implement a proper solution - try to have some ballpark numbers prepared to compare to the current situation if you remain status quo. Try to keep your personal feelings and details of previous failed attempts out of it - keep it strictly to bottom line, how it will benefit the company. Don’t get too technical. Keep it as short as you can while still getting your point across.
The problem is how to do this without your boss taking it the wrong way (as if you’re going around him - because you are). I would run this by him and see if you can get his support. If not then abort. You don’t want to ruin a good relationship with your boss. If you can get his support then maybe give it a shot.
DISCLAIMER - I would consider this a sort of last resort before deciding to find a new job. It is fully possible this will blow up in your face. But it sounds like you have little to lose currently and if you’re considering leaving anyway, maybe it’s worth throwing the hail Mary first - you never know, somebody may catch it.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I thought about going straight to the CEO just based on the unique circumstances. I'm certain my boss wouldn't mind seeing how he's been put in a rudderless state of affairs. But the more I think reflect on it, the more I see the whole matter as folly.
I just remembered that awhile back, the CEO and I were having a 1 on 1 meeting about "AI". Very odd thing to have a meeting about but they wanted to meet on it to see how we could "use AI in our business". I tried explaining at a high-level that in order to use AI in our company we'd need to first work internally at modernizing our own infrastructure. I don't recall the specifics of the CEO's response but do remember the statement, "I don't want IT making any business decisions". That made me just kind of emotional slunk to a halt and I ended the conversation with "OK, just let me know what you all wanna do".
Any ways, thanks for your thoughtful input. I appreciate it.
SatisfactionMuted103@reddit
Reading your responses below, the answer that stands out to me is abuse your nepotism. I mean, you're friends with the CEO, shoot them a text and say "Hey buddy, I've got some work related stuff I want to talk to you about. Let's go grab some beers and have a chat." Then let him know what you're thinking, and lay it all out as "I'm not trying to step on your toes, here, but I've observed some things and I think that making some simple changes here, here and here can help you out." _Listen_ to what they have to say, and understand that while you may be coming in with good ideas, it is entirely possible that there are reasons they're doing things the way they are that you're not privy to. I've never had a situation at my own company where I can't bring things up directly with the CEO. My advice isn't always followed, but by the end of our talks there is always an understanding as to why things are the way they are, or we start talking about implementing my ideas.
Anticept@reddit
Your feedback won't be valued until situations occur where it is demonstrated to be valuable. It should not work this way, but that's how it is.
They asked you to work around the problem, and you pointed out the solution is the licensing.
There's also the plethora of e-sign services out there. You could put those forth as an alternative. Make sure you point out their pricing but also estimate training on how to use them.
Of course self hosted options exist but then you have to estimate the infrastructure, backup systems and costs for people to maintain them.
Really what it comes down to when dealing with company leadership is that they never want to hear about problems. They only want to hear solutions. They don't always get what they want but if you want your opinion valued, always try to present solutions.
Especially more than one... One should be really expensive but still sound realistic, the other cheap and easy. It's manipulative but it's a lot easier to get movement towards a solution you recommend than it is to only present that solution, because in the latter case it gets compared to not picking a solution at all.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
I agree with you, demonstrating competency is key. How would you recommend doing this when we've provided roadmaps, initiatives, cost saving reports, and department workflow feedback only to be told not to worry about finding a solution to a problem but solving a problem with their own selected solution?
I could but why would I do this when we've already spent thousands of dollars on licensing. I'm not an advocate of throwing another tool at a problem if throwing money at it is more effective, and vice versa. In this case and in my opinion, there isn't a workaround for a close-sourced software feature without introducing added complexity.
This is really the point I'm trying to drive home and ultimately what I'm trying to get better feedback on. When you provide solutions but are told not to, then what are our options other than being the company's on-call technical plumber?
Again, I know that this is really just a case of me needing to move on. Just wish I could get some feedback on how to confront leadership in a way that presents my case, regardless if they listen or not.
Appreciate the feedback.
Anticept@reddit
There are pay by the page e-sign services.
The point is, it's not your decision. I know you want it to be but it's not. You're not in the "in" group and you can't force your way in, you have to be invited.
Think like an executive. Present the solutions. Let the people up top decide. And remember, to them, decisions are about numbers. That's how they operate. Numbers numbers numbers.
Put numbers to everything in your solutions. Ballparked is fine. But that's what will get them to understand value.
If they don't like hearing your suggestions... Then either they don't value IT at all and want to keep anything IT out of their mind, or you have developed the wrong reputation and you either find a new job, or work on thinking like an executive and turn it around.
Here's a video to help.
https://youtu.be/Fzi4T94QCjw
Baerentoeter@reddit
Doesn't sound like they are willing to change things.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
Agreed.
No_Resolution_9252@reddit
>employee at a non-profit organization.
Get a new job.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
Brave and insightful. Thanks.
ExceptionEX@reddit
This may sound harsh but, Do the job you were hired for, or find a new job, your qualifications or opinions unless are part of your job aren't of value here and will likely only lead to conflict and unhappiness.
It is worth having a conversation about promotion if that is an option but it doesn't sound like it is.
So sounds like you are on a path to a trail of tears, best to move on.
skate-and-code@reddit (OP)
Doesn't sound harsh at all. Promotion isn't an option nor is it wanted to be honest. I know the CEO personally and the mission of the company is what drives any compassion for improvement. I figured the general consensus here would be just leave and stop complaining. Just wondered if anyone would be willing to play devil's advocate. Thanks for the feedback.
Helpjuice@reddit
Unless you are up for getting fired before you have a new job your best professional path forward is to keep your thoughts to yourself and do as requested from leadership as long as it is not illegal.
You wan to vent do so with people that you do not work with or people that have zero relation or connections to your work. Doing so at work is always a bad move. The place is broken you cannot fix it, and they do not want it fixed.
Do not over work or stress yourself out about the current situation, just keep moving along until you can move on to something more professional with a different employer.