Missing deadlines over personal preferences?

If I'm signing it, it goes out the door the way I want it to.

That's just the way it is, his seal his way. I went through exactly the same thing early in my career. With a couple different surveyors. Now it's my seal and my way. If you don't like it get your license, start your own company and do things your way. Until then he's the boss.

I agree the one signing it has control of how it leaves the office. And I am willing to learn individual style preferences. I've already made many of those preferences standard for all the drawings he is signing.

But I've never had my experience or ability called into question. Now the owner of the company thinks I am incompetent for being unable to read my boss's mind. That's what bothers me about this.

I'm well aware of my shortcomings as an employee and as a boss. I'm also aware of my strengths. As an employee- it was being acutely aware of what was expected of me and meeting it- whether I agreed with it or not. Your prerogative is yours, however if nothing unethical is occurring and it's simply a matter of personal taste, then you need to live with it or move somewhere where you can.

I've done some of the dumbest stuff in my life being an obedient employee of another RPLS. Those were lessons as valuable- or more- as any of the "good" things I've learned from old bosses.

Don't take it personally. My new boss wants things done a certain way. I may be licensed and capable of doing things my own way but its his standards, and his signature on my check. He likely doesn't mean to call your ability into question, only that he needs to help you understand his way of doing things.

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Your work will speak for itself. If you have a chickenshit boss, that too will speak for itself. If your boss' boss doesn't get that, that too will speak for itself.

Until you can fly under your own power you are stuck with this type of opportunity to be belittled.

Once you are flying on your own you discover you still can't satisfy everyone.

I am aware of a supervisor who pointed to an underling and told a visitor that the underling was an example of someone with less grey matter between the ears than either of them. The underling hunted up a fellow employee to translate that message for him. Then he was very upset.

flyin solo, post: 391433, member: 8089 wrote: Your work will speak for itself. If you have a chickenshit boss, that too will speak for itself. If your boss' boss doesn't get that, that too will speak for itself.

Exactly, just do your best, put up with the bs and move forward to your goals. My previous boss would literally stand over my shoulder and say things like move that text here and write this note, but never actually check the substance of the work. Which still goes on today. A few years ago I followed a beautiful plat drawn by a draftsman for this surveyor. The problem was that there was about 40' of error between the plat and the field. I called and informed the LS and he quickly blamed the draftsman, however it was all too clear that he didn't make the crew cross the swamp to actually tie the rear corners of his plat. That created the property he split. The important thing isn't the appearance. The important part is the real meat of the plat.

Side note, to this day I will not let someone stand over my shoulder while I'm on the puter.

flyin solo, post: 391433, member: 8089 wrote: Your work will speak for itself. If you have a chickenshit boss, that too will speak for itself. If your boss' boss doesn't get that, that too will speak for itself.

I am very proud of my work and stand by everything I've ever done. But the only way the head honcho (who is not a surveyor and not very technical) has any idea is based off what my boss tells him. And the boss told him I didn't know what I was doing and the reason the deadline was missed. Because I followed the company cad manual instead of reading g his mind on my very first project.

Every tech that has prepared a drawing for me has balked at first to what I expect.
What I expect is that on all drawings they use the same style, font and when pasted together they would all appear much the same.

I always hand them a couple of past drawings for examples with the same instructions to all, "make it look like this".

Every mentor I've worked for has given me the same instructions.
The only difference was when it was totally hand lettered and everyone's handwriting is a bit different.

:clink:

Trundle, post: 391438, member: 12120 wrote: I am very proud of my work and stand by everything I've ever done. But the only way the head honcho (who is not a surveyor and not very technical) has any idea is based off what my boss tells him. And the boss told him I didn't know what I was doing and the reason the deadline was missed. Because I followed the company cad manual instead of reading g his mind on my very first project.

Well the deadline responsibility lies with him. You can only do what he tells you. If the deadline is close it is his responsibility to ensure it is met. If it was a tight deadline he should have assigned the task to a more experienced technician.

Im sure the owner can see through the BS, as I'm sure this wasn't the first time the owner had that talk with him.

Hold your head high and do your best.

But don't be close minded to different ways of doing things. As I've gain more experience and been licensed a while with a business of my own, some of the things I thought frivolous at the time make a lot more sense today.

Your boss sucks at leadership. I would say look for a new job but your new job will have some problem person like this so you may as well roll with the punches.

Ron Lang, post: 391441, member: 6445 wrote: But don't be close minded to different ways of doing things. As I've gain more experience and been licensed a while with a business of my own, some of the things I thought frivolous at the time make a lot more sense today.

I've worked at a company with 5 different LS's, each with their own way of doing things. I have no problem preparing an ALTA anyway the LS wants. I just took it personal when the guy who should be mentoring me is telling the owner (the guy who signs my checks) that I'm incompetent because I didn't use Arial font.

What Ron and Dave said.

There may be value you're not seeing yet. What I do today- and expect from my employees- has been informed and is a synthesis of all the lessons I took from each job I had as an underling.

One thing I do have is a go-by cad file, though. Anyone who walks in should be able to know what size, font, layer, ltpye, etc each element of their final product should have if they follow one instruction: use the go-by.

I have yet to find a perfect place to work. My current job is about as good as it gets.

Trundle, post: 391446, member: 12120 wrote: I've worked at a company with 5 different LS's, each with their own way of doing things. I have no problem preparing an ALTA anyway the LS wants. I just took it personal when the guy who should be mentoring me is telling the owner (the guy who signs my checks) that I'm incompetent because I didn't use Arial font.

I would too. But bottom line. As long as the client pays the bill, that's the last time owner will think about it.

And from what your initial post said, he didn't say you were incompetent. He said he needed to work with you a while to get you used to his style.

Don't read too much into it, it will make you miserable.

I agree most with Dave, your LS needs some leadership training, or people skills, or something along those lines. Yep, you have experience, and you know what you are doing. Yep, you are working for him, so you should do it his way. But, your first plat he shouldn't expect you to get it to company "standards" without some revisions to the revisions. That's how employees learn the way a company works, and how the company finds the employee's strengths and weaknesses. I personally like my draughtsman to put a little personal touch to his/her plat, as I think of plats as works of art, and I know how I give my retracements more credit if they are done by certain surveyors, maybe some day someone will give our plats more credit if they know a plat was drawn by a certain person. That said, if the boss is gonna nitpick, and you cannot work for someone who nitpicks, then you probably should move on. If the boss is good at being a surveyor and has much he can teach you, maybe its worth sticking around for a year to get the knowledge on your way to licencesure, as well as learning how not to be a boss like that.

Ron Lang, post: 391452, member: 6445 wrote: I would too. But bottom line. As long as the client pays the bill, that's the last time owner will think about it.

And from what your initial post said, he didn't say you were incompetent. He said he needed to work with you a while to get you used to his style.

Don't read too much into it, it will make you miserable.

Actually, he used the words "he doesn't have the experience necessary to finish these jobs without significant hand holding".

I know that means his preferences, but to the owner (and anyone else listening) it sounds like I misrepresented myself when I said I can draft alta surveys in my sleep (I can).

Tomato, tomahto I guess...