Last night I discovered a new way to get myself fired. I got into an argument with the COO. She wanted to take some of the tutorial tables and use them in the board of directors meeting. I told her no. And when she wouldn't take that for an answer, I in a mad tone of voice, told her to take them. So last night, after everyone had gone home she emailed me, my boss, My boss's boss and the site manager and told on me. When my boss found out, she laughed. My boss's boss won't care, she doesn't care about anything. And I truly believe the only reason that the COO is mad is because I won. I not only had the last word but I also made her look stupid in front of several other people. Hummm. Possibly not the best course of action if I want to keep my job. But at least it shows that I am very passionate about my program.
In fact, I think I will post her letter to me and my response (which has not, nor probably ever will be, sent.)
So, for your reading pleasure...
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Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 8:27 PM
Subject: our interaction tonight
I was surprised and taken aback by your behavior tonight when I requested the use of a table. While I can appreciate the potential limitations my request may have caused you, this was for a meeting that **** was notified of over a month ago. It’s not often our Board of Directors has a chance to visit *****, and it is important for us as an agency to welcome them and be flexible when needed. The use of one extra table should not have warranted the hostile response you offered (to **** as well as myself), whether you agreed with my request or not.
Your tone and response to my request concerned me both personally and professionally. As such I am compelled to share what happened with **** and *****, and I prefer not to do that without also letting you know.
My reply:
You shouldn’t be surprised by my behavior. I was protecting the best interests of my program.
Because you took one of the tables form the tutorial room several kinds who would have stayed to do homework left. I was informed of this meeting only a few hours before it started and had already told **** that I could give only one table to the meeting (Which I helped move into the yellow room earlier that day). She took that table and promised that my program would not be impacted any further.
My question to you is why did you bother to ask when you already knew the answer was going to be no? Why did you bother to instigate a fight? Why didn’t you just inform me you were taking a table as you had already decided that was what you were going to do?
My program is very important to me. The kids who live here are very important to me. I am going to be defensive of both the program and the kids who are in it. I’m glad you are sharing what happen with ***, ***, *** and myself as I feel that all I have done is tried to stick up for the kids who usually don’t have anyone to stick up for them. The resources for the tutorial program are already sparse and by taking away anything you are sending a clear message to the kids that they are not important. These kids are important. I will always stick up for them.
I hope you can understand this.
And after reading that...
So, who's side are you on?
Tah.
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1 comment:
Whoa! Naturally I agree with you.
I sure hope it doesn't lead to your firing. That would be so wrong.
She probably sent the letter because she DOESN'T have any power over you. It was her only way to try to have influence.
The worst part is that you will have to continue having contact with her at work. Now that she has blown the disagreement (over a table, for heaven's sake) all out of proportion, the work environment will be poisoned way out of proportion too.
It is clearly a "priority" thing. She sees kissing up to the board as her highest priority. It is the way for her to retain her position. She is not able to see that it is possible to have other priorities or that your priorities might be different. Even if she were able to see that other priorites were possible, for her it would be a no-brainer: the board trumps the kids.
Ah well, I don't think you should send the reply.
You might want to say something to her face-to-face along the lines of: it's hard to see how sending poison e-mails could be good for our morale here. I think dealing with people directly is far more honest.
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