Ok I have been awaken or come to the realization that I was brainwashed you might say in the USMC. So as a Sgt my job was many things. I had to throw myself in front of the bus for those Marines under my charge. I knew them personally i knew there at home struggles financial personal and many different issues. I had to be a friend and a boss and know when and how to turn that off like a switch. I had to know there job strengths and weaknesses. Make sure they went to see the doc medical. Approve disapprove leave aka vacation PTO etc. plan and execute getting simple things like fixing or repair a car for the spouse as he or she was miles and miles away and they were home with kids. Mow the lawn baby sit. I slept many nights on someone else’s couch to get a child to school as the mother was in labor. And no family grandparents close by. We stuck together we all watched each other’s backs. We fought argued with each other but we always got the mission done.
Another thing is those bosses AKA officers the ones we called butter bars 1st 2nd Lts up to Captain. Well they had the last say they were the ones when they spoke we jumped. But us Sgts were the ones who trained them in out of the others eyes we had closed door meetings. We taught them our jobs because they would not be there long enough to master that job so they the smart ones relied heavily on us and enlisted ranks above us . Now fast forward to civilian life. I find I feel sorry for my boss as I still have that mentality. I am a details person so i read the scope SOW and know it in and out when i get one . I execute plan and send crews on mission. The boss sometimes goes directly to the crews and well thats where i forget i am not in the USMC anymore as i go to him. I say has something changed in the contract as we are supposed to do this or that. He might say I wasn’t told that. I say its right here in SOW he reads it and says oh i didn’t catch that. So somehow I have to figure out how to stop being so specific and not buck the boss. But at same time I hate to let anything fall through the cracks. Because if it does we all know stuff flows down hill gravity always wins. I am getting a new boss soon so i am trying to fix myself before then. If you are the boss and you give me a sow scope to execute a project. Do you want me telling you hey you told them not to do X but SOW sais X is required. Or should i just smile and say yes sir yes maam and when client says where is X. Do i just take the butt chewing and move on for missing something i knew was required or what. I miss stuff for sure. No doubt. I just trying to get better as i know at times my old boss had to be like this guy is nuts. Lol.
In or out of the military, the front-line non-com or supervisor has one tough job. He catches it from both the top and bottom. But a boss who frequently violates chain of command while demanding that everyone else follow it needs a semester of management training. He should address the troops only in your presence and only to reinforce your authority.
Give me his name. I'll have a chat with him.
Either you work in a strange shop or it's time to be your own boss now. Time to get the license and go out on your own, I bet when you do your perspective will drastically alter.
A good boss would thank you for making sure you gave the customer what the boss signed up for.
Personally, I appreciate when someone catches my mistakes before they blow up into Problems, or worse, become DISASTERS.
If you are the boss and you give me a sow scope to execute a project. Do you want me telling you hey you told them not to do X but SOW sais X is required.
Personally, I would simply follow the SOW, and if pointing out that the boss isn't following it causes trouble, don't bother telling him, just execute the project so that you're fulfilling the contract. The client expects it, and you're obligated to do so.
I'm in a similar position myself. As a technical troubleshooter and "Community of Practice" lead, I get asked for help by field and office staff all the time on workflows, best practices, and technical problems. I usually go pull the contract off our project server as I'm talking through whatever issue they are having. Occasionally I see something in the contract that we will not be able to fulfill by following the initial instructions, or see a much faster/more efficient workflow that will help us get the job done better.
(If any initial instruction was given at all - some PMs have a habit of just pitching the contract to the crew and saying "go do this". That can work for sufficiently advanced staff, but IMO is still dicey. Do a kickoff meeting and make sure everyone is comfortable with the project and understand expectations.)
If I'm able to help, I usually drop the PM a short email giving them a heads-up that I spoke with their team and made some adjustments to their workflow.
Sometimes I get blowback from the PM, but not very often. I've never gotten in trouble with our next-tier bosses for ensuring we fulfilled our end of the contract and saving us money by not having to make a return trip.
I'll gladly do something that's not within our SOW or NOT do something that's within our SOW. If you could please sign here when providing that instruction, that'd be great...
In a vacuum I would agree that PMs should let task leads handle field crews as they saw fit- assuming the task lead can get the SOW completed on time & budget. In the same vein it's the task lead's responsibility to seek clarification of the SOW when necessary.
In my mind the SOW > boss, but the boss has the ability to instruct you to do otherwise in exchange for assuming liability. Just be sure you're not the one holding the bag.
It sounds like @OleManRiver is describing a "hands-on" boss/PM. I don't know about the non-corporate world, but in corporate surveying I could see that happening... On account of everyone getting the spiel about utilization numbers.
I want my employees looking over my shoulder and I give them lots of leeway. My job is to review and fix problems, I expect them to do the same. I can't imagine why that isn't SOP for everyone. Redlines of my work makes me happy.
Well I am not in military anymore and honestly i had 1 officer and 1 higher ranking enlisted person I ever had any issues with and even then we work it out.
Now my old boss has moved on and I have taken some time this past week or so to reflect and try and figure out how to be better for the next boss. The reason for the post. I know i am direct and call things like i see them. I don’t beat around the bush or tip toe like i see on the civilian side. As i have been reflecting. So wanted to bounce and get the folks here like you all have give me some pointers where I need them. Yes I probably am better at being my own boss. But I am not qualified for that yet. I still have a lot to learn on the survey side for sure. I am just trying to be better at being a good coordinator and have seen that I could be a little to direct for some folks. If i see something wrong i simply say it or email it. If i mess up. I say it was all on me. Period. No blame on crews etc. when they mess up i take the responsibility for not training them properly. Just had a issue like that. They have never ever run a particular piece of equipment. And were thrown before i had a chance to show them the ropes. So something didn’t work out as well as it should when they were met on site and handed a rental. They did what they could to get job done. I tried talking them through it over the phone. But as we all know it takes time understand a new piece of equipment. I took the hit on that one shielding them best I could. Now i would have never sent them to do that job because i knew it was a total new thing to them. And i am one who hardly ever trust rental equipment straight out of the box. I recon i will learn one way or the other when i cross the line. But it is something that has weighed on me the last few weeks. When I watch others interact in this profession i see a lot of not saying anything but yes yes yes. No questions and then when it doesn’t get done or is done wrong I am like we just had the meeting and should have asked. Thats what i see for people in my role. I see a lot of assumptions from those higher up. As well. Me if i don’t know i bring it up right there hey i understand this and that. But d i have no clue explain to me. Lol. Not that i don’t try and figure it out on my own but hay here is a flag warning to the boss. I am a bit unsure about what is required or how to.
If you are the boss and you give me a sow scope to execute a project. Do
you want me telling you hey you told them not to do X but SOW sais X is
required.
Well, I like to think if I hired a supervisor I wouldn't immediately turn around and attempt do that person's job...
To answer the question though I would say it depends on your relationship with the boss. Personally, I would enjoy being helpful that way, but I've worked with enough people that are offended or threatened by that sort of thing that, unless I'm specifically asked, I just mind my own business.