You can’t say? What do you mean you can’t say??!!

As I started getting more responsibilities on my first contracting job and my time seemed to shrink.  So, I began to work overtime and also I began to appreciate working late in the evening or on the weekend because most people were gone and I could get work done.  One night I was still working at 8:00 pm and my phone rang, the caller ID said US Government, so I knew that it was the client.  But, this was really odd, because most government workers come in to work early and they are usually gone by 4 or 5 pm.  At first I thought that it was probably a wrong number, so I let it go to voice-mail.  But the phone kept ringing.  So, after staring at it (I know that is bad, but it is 8 pm on a Monday night.), I answered.  The client on the other end of the phone was one of the Test Leads.  She gave me her name, and told me what project she was working on, and said that she needed my help.  The client was preparing to start testing, but they didn't know the server names that they needed to have access to for the test environment.  And, they were worried that they were going to miss their deadline if they didn't get that information soon.  I explained to her that I did not manage the test projects in the labs and that if she needed any help, she needed to talk to her the test lab Project Manager.  (Every project had a PM from our department assigned to them.  The handled all of the lab preparation and any issues for each project.  This included everything from preparing the test work stations to scheduling admin support when needed.  I knew how it worked, because I had participated in the committee that designed the process.)  I had the list of all of the Test Lab PMs with their assigned projects and I told her that I would be happy to provide the contact information.  Beverly had been assigned as the PM for her project.  I told her that Beverly would be here in the morning and she could supply

her with the information that she wanted.  As, I was about to hang up, she replied “I don’t want Beverly, she doesn't know how to help me and she won’t return my calls anymore.”  “Anymore??!!  What do you mean anymore?  How long have you been trying to get the information?”  I responded.  Her reply was “About two months, maybe more.”  Next, I told her, that I still couldn't provide the help she needed.  I recommended that she call Jim, which was Beverly’s supervisor.  Then, she told me that she had talked to Jim and he started avoiding her phone calls as well.  I paused, and then I asked her why did she call me?  Her response was strange…”I called you because I was told that if anyone in the department could help me, it would be you and if you can’t, you would find someone who could.”  I laughed and asked her who told her that.  She said, “I was told not to provide their name.  But they said that if I let you know what was going on, you would fix it.”  I stopped laughing.  My reply was “Thanks, I think.  I can’t do anything tonight, but I will contact you tomorrow and let you know what I find out.”  I hung up the phone and went to Keith’s office; he was working late as well.  As I was walking to Keith’s office, I thought how they know I was still here.  Well, maybe Keith knew something that I didn't.  I told him what had just happened.  He didn't seem to know anything about this either and he didn't seem happy.  But, it was now, 9:00 pm, so there was nothing that we could do now.  He asked me to schedule a meeting the next morning with Beverly and Jim.

The next day we met with Beverly and Jim.  First Keith lectured them about using the caller ID to avoid calls from the client, and he asked them to seek out assistance if they don’t have the answers.  He explained how our client is always looking at ways to trim their budget, and our department could end up on the chopping block, if we do not prove that we have value.  Beverly and Jim promised to respond to the clients calls.  Next, Jim asked why was I present at the meeting.  Keith explained that the customer called me last night at 8 pm and asked me to assist on the project, and in turn, I notified him.  He also explained that because the client called me, and because it was a mystery on who recommended me, I would take temporarily take over the

project until the issue was resolved.  Jim was not happy, because I was not part of his department, but Keith said, “We don’t know how Cara’s name came up and we don’t know who’s watching the outcome of this project.  Beverly needs to provide Cara all of the information on the project and she will become part of your team, yet still report to me until this is over.”  Jim and Beverly left the meeting irritated and I left the meeting overwhelmed.  I was already working at 8 pm on some nights, how was I going to fit in another project?  After the meeting, Beverly provided me with the all of the project information and added me to their meeting schedule.  Also, she sent out an email notifying the project that I would not be their Test Lab PM. 

A few hours later Rose, our department’s Administrative Assistant escorted an angry looking man to my desk.  She said, “Harry, this is Cara Massey.  Cara, this is Harry, he is the Test Lead on our side, and he hasn't been able to get the support that he has needed from Beverly, so he wanted to meet you.”  After that, she left.  I felt this large migraine coming.  This was all I needed another unhappy person.  “Harry, what seems to be the problem?” I asked.  “This is the problem!”  He said.  And, he slammed a sheet of paper on my desk.  It was a completed server access request form.  “No one has been able to tell me, where I need to submit this so I can get server access for my team for testing.  I have been getting the runaround from your department PMs for the past couple of weeks.  I know that you just got assigned to this project, but maybe you can help me.”  He said.  I blinked, and thought, this had to be a set up, it can’t be this easy.  It just can’t.  So, I looked at the form again.  And, I asked him, “Are these all of the names of the servers that you need access to for testing?”  “Yes.” He responded.  “OK, give me your phone number and I will call you as soon as I know anything.” I said. 

Next, I called the Test Lead on the Client side, and I told her that I had the names of the servers that she needed and that I would email the list to her.  Also, I asked if she new where the contractor’s server request form needed to be submitted.  She explained to me that that the sever request form was in the process of being placed online, and the paper form had already been phased out.  However, they could not add the server names for this project to the online form, because they did not have the information.  She also told me that Rose was suppose to provide them a list of all of all of our contract testers as well as a list of the servers and networks that they needed access to, so they could be added to the new online form.  Once the form was updated, the contractors could go online and request access.  Everything would be completed by the end of the week.  So, I gave Rose all of the information that she needed and I contacted Harry and informed him that at the end of the week he would need to fill out an online request form and it would take about a day for him and his test team to get access.  I also told both Test Leads that I would keep in touch with them until all of the issues had been resolved.  And, I said something that I didn't want to say, (sigh) ”If you have any more issues, feel free to call me anytime.” 

After testing started and everyone was happy, I asked the Test Lead to tell me who had given my name.  She still refused.  I told her that I would keep track of the project until it went to production and I was going to keep asking.  Well, at least the issue had been resolved and I could go back to my normal chaos.  I sent Keith a status report and said that I had completed my tasks.  He called me and told me to come to his office.   When I got there, he said, “I want you to be a part-time Test Lab PM.  You will attend all of Jim’s meetings and you will assist the other PMs if they have any problems or meeting conflicts.  That way you will know the status of all of the projects and can let me know if there are any issues that I need to know about.  Also, you need to decide if you want to continue working on my staff or become part of Jim’s team.”  If I became part of Jim’s team my title would change from Senior Technical Writer to Project Manager, and I might have been able to get a raise.  But, I knew that Jim and the rest of his staff didn't want me, and I was still going to have my other responsibilities.  So, I kept my position as being part of the Director’s staff.  I decided to do that because that way; Jim was limited on the amount of abuse and crappy work that he was going to hurl towards me.  I was right, after all Keith was Jim’s boss as well, so I had kept myself protected.  . 

Oh, I did find out who recommended me.  He was the former Government Director that I worked with when we were designing the Test Lab process.  He had moved on to a different project less stressful Department, but when he heard what was going on, he provided my name. 

#callerid

#responsibilities

#migraine

Nobody’s Perfect and You Can’t Fix Stupid

One morning as I was getting settled at my desk at work, my phone started ringing, the caller ID said US Government.  Now, it is true that I was a Federal Contractor, but the caller ID usually had the agency name, not just US Government.  It kind of freaked me out, the call went to voice mail before I could answer, but an hour later, the phone rang again and I answered it.  It was our client and he was upset.  One of our administrators had made an error on one of the government servers and they needed to have it rebooted, so Jeffrey called him and asked him to reboot it.  However, our process required me or Keith to sign off before the server could be rebooted.  So, the client asked if I had signed off on the reboot.  I guess that is when this got ugly.  Jeffrey yelled at the client and told him that I was nobody but a figure head and that he was the Network Manager and he needed to do what he was

told.  I told him that I was sorry that this had happened to him.  I also told him that Keith was in his office and that he would have no problem giving approval for the reboot.  I told him, that I would ask for Keith’s approval.  After I hung up the phone I talked with Jeffrey.  I told him that the client had just called me.  I also asked him why he yelled at the client.  He then reminded me who he was and stated that he shouldn't have to get permission from me.  And, the client was just a System Admin.  Plus, I had not arrived at work yet, he responded, “What was I supposed to do, call you at home?”  I told him that he could have, or he could have asked Keith to sign off on it.  Keith was in his office by 7 am.  I tried to explain to him, that he had upset the client and who knows who else he is going to tell about this issue.  Jeffrey did not like my response.  He went to his desk and sent and email to me and the client stating that it was inappropriate for the Network Manager to obtain permission to reboot a server from a non-technical figurehead.  My response to the email was that I was the Change Control Co-Chair, and that requesting approval from the Change Control Chair or Co-Chair for emergencies was part of the process that was created by our department.  I also reminded him that I was assigned the Co-Chair position by Keith, and if he did not like the process or did not want to obtain approval from me, he could go to Keith’s office and get his approval.  The email finally made it to Keith’s office.  Keith had no problem giving approval, but of course he wanted to know what happened and why, which was really what Jeffery was trying to avoid. 

Keith also told him that I was right.  Keith also explain that the government's organization was different than ours.  And that Jeffrey needed to understand how the government worked, their organization was top down and ours was cross-functional, and they don’t necessarily understand how ours work.  The client didn't mean any harm when he asked for Cara’s approval; he was just following our process.  And, in his world, her signature, equals an approval.  And she has that responsibility because I asked her to take it.  After that, everyone seemed to be OK.  Jeffrey was less angry, but the issue seemed to be resolved. 

Later in the afternoon, another manager stopped me outside of our department.  He asked me if I was alright.  I told him that I was fine.  He told me that the client had called him because he was still upset about what had happened that morning and he had sent him a copy of the email that Jeffrey sent.  I told him that I was fine, and that Keith had handled the situation.  Everything was fine.  Are you sure, he asked.  I responded “Yes”.

After that, the week went by pretty fast.  I got in fairly early on Friday and Keith was all dressed up.  He said that he was going downtown.  He also said that usually when the government requests you to come to downtown DC on a Friday, it usually isn't good.  I didn't think much of it. I was going to get my work done and take an hour lunch, which was something that I rarely did. 

Well, later that afternoon, I was walking down the hallway on my way to lunch.  And I heard this booming voice “Freeze!! Where are you going?"  It was Keith.  I was going to lunch I replied.  He told me that I was not going to lunch, I was going to my desk, and we were having a meeting as soon as he gathered the rest of the staff.  So I went back to my desk and waited.

When the meeting started Keith was angry.  He stated that he was asked to come to the Deputy Commissioner’s office, and when he sat down, Jeffrey’s email was put in his lap.  Then he was asked, “Is this the way your people treat their employees?”  He didn't elaborate on the rest of the meeting.  I rolled my head back, I couldn't believe that this had gone this far.  I had seen things happen like this before, but I thought that the issue was over.  Keith was still yelling.  “I realize that this is not a perfect team, and we have issues, but we need to keep are disagreements to ourselves.  The client does not need to know it.  Also, our disagreements should take place on our network and on our email not on theirs.”  Jeffrey asked how the government got the email, Keith told him, that it didn't matter, the conversation occurred in their environment and it was their property.  Keith did ask them how they got the email and they refused to say. 

The fallout was ugly.  It was assumed that I sent the government the email, even though it was never really said to my face.  I guess that maybe it was thought that I wanted revenge or wanted to teach Jeffrey a lesson.  However, to be honest I saw no benefit in getting any type of revenge.  Also, years had passed by then and I thought that the managers that I worked with including Jeffrey were not teachable, at least not by me.  Nor did I think that it was my responsibility to teach them anything.