I got a HUGE promotion this week. It's been a long time coming.

In 2007 I was hired to open the new department. I started it from the ground up. It was a total mystery to them and how things could possibly work. I set policy and procedure, materials and workflow. I took off running with it and within 90 days was producing successful projects.

12 years later I have grown the department three times with equipment, materials and personnel.

There has been discussion by the executives to take the company into a new direction. The future of the industry. We went to Vegas last month for a state of the industry convention that featured all the newest technology and equipment.

In the last 12 years 40% of all production now goes through my hands directly. The numbers show I have the highest percentage of profit with the least amount of waste. So much profit, that they are wanting to close down labor intensive procedures and have me make them digital. One man = one machine.

They found themselves time and time again interrupting me from my classes to consult over equipment.

The digital age is here. We are going to have new processes and a new kind of employee to hire.

I have 35 years in the field the company is headed all from my previous experiences. 15 of those years teaching. Makes me qualified to train.

There isn't a piece of extremely complicated equipment that I don't know inside and out or can't repair if needed, even our laser. In fact, I was sent to classes on it's operation and maintenance to set policy and write the training manual.

I am now the ONLY employee in the company qualified to steer this ship in that direction.

I was an independent employee in my department with free reign on how I operated it with a production supervisor/manager that was technically able to give me orders. She considered herself having control over my department. However I was the only one who could train people as she has zero experience with technology and just let it pass her by.

I am CONSTANTLY taking classes and continuing my education and improving my skills by keeping a very close relationship with my material vendors. They offer free classes from manufacturers in turn for using the products. The production manager saw them as irritating distractions so she lost out on ANY advancement of her skills.

Well, discussion started on promoting me to Division Director from production and there was one single dissenting voice. SHE said that it was HER steering my department and tried to use the words I use in day to day operations in correcting projects for production. Metermeric failure, Gamut deficiency, density plateau, etc.

She thinks the monitor stuck on the desk is the RIPstation itself.

Last Thursday after an uninsitgated fight that came out of nowhere with her the day before, I had every intention of resigning and taking a job that was offered with a major manufacturer as it was known they have been courting me for years.

I had no idea why she was being so hostile. Her department drips with a toxic work environment as it is and has orders to steer clear of me.

I got to the executive officer's office and he asked me to close the door. I NEVER go to his office. He KNEW what I was up to if I came to him.

We spoke a bit about how phenomenal of a job I had done for the company and I had EARNED my way to a promotion capable of steering the company. My former supervisor would now take orders from me and the only person I would answer to was him. He gave me 100% credit for making the company so successful. My pay would double effective immediately. He would inform the supervisor when we got back from the holiday, so I had to keep quiet for 2 days.

I was in shock, so I kept to myself and the supervisor keyed into my new found great mood.

On Friday she was testing her suspicions that she was going to be usurped for the position of Director and just steer ME in the direction she wanted the department to go while using MY skills and knowledge.

She brought one of my trainees and sat her down at MY personal workstation with the critical color control systems and set her to work. I politely asked the employee to let me have my workstation until I finish out the day, I have production under control, just go relax somewhere with some busy work and get ready for the long weekend.

Supervisor starts yelling at me about not having enough workstations with the critical controls on it for HER workers (actually now my workers) and calls me into her office demanding my department layout sheet and for me to teach her how everything works. NOW!!!!!

She is screeching that I treat her like a dumbass and I am REQUIRED to teach her how everything works so SHE can make the PROPER decisions for the department.

She said she had a meeting with CEO and I am supposed to do these things now. I said no ma'am, I have it under control and since you spoke with CEO, you already know. She LIED and said "YES, I KNOW", now get me the information. I said, just let me run my department and we will discuss this on Tuesday. She said WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR DEPARTMENT!!!!! Well, since you spoke with CEO, you know it's 100% mine now and I am to steer it into the future.

She threw the scrawled department layout, software brochures and equipment specs at me, screaming about how they don't know what they are doing and only SHE could control my department and just stormed out of the building.

We had our meeting Tuesday morning and it was BRUTAL. I got chewed up for allowing her to goad me into a confrontation, however he said I DID have to play the part of obedient employee and did. The ONLY thing I could have done to diffuse the situation was to go into my departmen and lock it down, stopping production.

She was lucky to walk out of there still with her job intact.

She was ORDERED to work as my partner as I transition.


Now that the company wide memo was sent out, she has been quiet as a church mouse and calls me sir. Her attempt to usurp me was deflected easily. She could have been successful if she had blocked my from taking all the classes and removing all contact with the vendors and kept me isolated from the equipment manufacturers.

On top of my new duties, I have to fix the toxic environment and try to salvage a long time employee on the edge of termination.

Well, I am the new Director over all digital production, interior and exterior divisons.

It should have been a celebration, hey Marzy, Congratulations I'm so proud of you!, but no.
It's anticlimactic, draining, and nothing but trauma.

Now I have people choosing sides. Sycophants, detractors and the few that are happy for me. Oh and the obligatory power attracted chix now making goo goo eyes. Oh lord.

Hey, at least I'm out looking for a new truck as I just handed the keys to the old one over to Tabitha's son. Now HE is beyond happy and that is good enough for me.

Marzy, Director of Digital Operations. Has a nice ring to it, don'cha think?

Congratulations, Marzy. You'll work through the problems.

It is good to hear that hard work pays off. Congratulations to you!

It might be tense at work for a while, but try to leave it behind you at quitting time every day. Take a few deep breaths, go home, enjoy your time with Tabitha, and have a drink (if that's your thing).

Do what’s right, watch your six, don’t let anyone drag you into their drama/bullshit. I have no doubt you already know these things but it bears repeating. Congratulations!

Pay doubled? Holy shit.

That would be a hell of a cocktail that evening.

Congrats!

Congrats on the new job/promotion.

Now, as far as your former-supervisor now subordinate, assign her the job of counting paper clips and cleaning the latrines. You need to get that toxic bitch gone, as she’ll undercut and back-stab you at ever turn.

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Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
Pay doubled? Holy shit.

That would be a hell of a cocktail that evening.

Congrats!

I have a hangover.

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Do what’s right, watch your six,

This. You've got a huge target on you with someone who has all sorts of ammo if you let her gather it.

To quote the pig; Be vewwwwwy careful!

Congratulations, that's awesome!!

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Now I have people choosing sides. Sycophants, detractors and the few that are happy for me. Oh and the obligatory power attracted chix now making goo goo eyes. Oh lord.

And this is why many people like to bring in their own people / new hires when taking over a role. Is there someone who can play the "bad cop" to get people in line?

Congrats Mars!
Sounds like you earned it and then some.

As for the bionic woman you are burdened with, my guess is she is still plotting a coup. Otherwise I'd think she would have left for greener pastures but I doubt she has the cred to earn it so she's stuck there.

Good news is you had to be very resourceful and relentless to get where you are, so I doubt she has a prayer due to being so out classed.

You no doubt know that the higher you rise in an organization the more political it can get.
Gear.Up's suggestion about a "bad cop" is a valid one as long as you choose a loyal employee who know's just how far he can go without crossing the line. He or she will be a very rare individual. Good luck; you earned the position the correct way, through hard work.

Congratulations!

Unfortunately in a situation like that, it's very hard to avoid drama, since there are hard feelings from those who have been passed over.

As you climb the ranks, you'll be dealing more with 'people issues' then 'production issues', unfortunately.

5% of the people will take 80+% of your time seems to be commonplace.

She had earned the reputation as the Department of Can’t.

Just keeping projects within her abilities to produce, you know, everything that the competition does with ease. I am able to say yes and figure out a method to give an in budget successful repeatable product.

I am going to blindside the competition. They might be able to purchase equipment, but they don’t have me to utilize it.

I have been training them for several years for the manufacturer and they don’t impress me.

I now am under a noncompete clause and my pay reflects what I made on the side as compensation.

Good or you. That's a great story and a well deserved promotion.

I worked with 20% men and 80% women. Guess which group caused the most drama and problems.

Mike

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teach her how everything works. NOW!!!!!

Sure, everything I've learned over twelve years, you want to know in fifteen minutes. Riiiiight.

Stay strong. Maybe she'll get discouraged and find a position elsewhere.

Giant congratulations to you !


I needed some HAppy News,
thanks for sharing.

Marzy, if there's anything I've learned about you from reading your posts since I got here in 2007, it's that you (or your brother) don't back down from a challenge. I have no doubt you will be successful.

So, congratulations! And go take some Tylenol and hydrate!

Being the boss isn't fun. I'm fact a lot of times it sucks ass. But you know what to do.

She has to go. She will undermine everything you do. Document everything and have some frank and direct conversations with your bosses, they know it too I'll bet.

You can't clear the culture if the producer of the toxic atmosphere is still around. I'll bet they will all thank you when she's gone.

She is my inferior, but we both answer to CEO.

I can only handle personnel problems within my direct control.

While I can't fire her, I CAN allow her enough rope to hang herself.

I will have my hands full training clueless newbies. I refer to my trainees as Mortys and I am the Rickest Rick there is.

I have the wheel of the flagship and everyone wants in my department. I will only take the best of the best and one of my trainees who chose the wrong side just didn't make the cut.

She got promised a raise, her own workstation and printer if she helped usurp me.

Now I am having her trained to set up files. It's a promotion, but has an abrupt ceiling. My Mortys have the stars above them.

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She has to go. She will undermine everything you do. Document everything and have some frank and direct conversations with your bosses, they know it too I'll bet.

You can't clear the culture if the producer of the toxic atmosphere is still around. I'll bet they will all thank you when she's gone.

THIS!!