September 2008
Intermediate to advanced
256 pages
5h 2m
English
book
Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career
by Gary Ranker, Colin Gautrey, Mike Phipps
Content preview from Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Chapter Six
TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW
Thrilled at your new appointment, you are dismayed to discover that everybody keeps telling you how great your predecessor was, and they seem unable to accept you.
When we get promoted, we are usually replacing someone else. Although we now have the chance to make our mark and do things our way, we nevertheless get to inherit a legacy from our predecessor, and we inherit both the good and the bad. A part of that inheritance is the team. Inevitably people will compare us to our predecessor. If the previous results were poor or our predecessor was unpopular, it might help make our transition easy.
But what happens if the job was done effectively, inspirationally—and perhaps even brilliantly—by our predecessor? What do we do when the team seems unable or unwilling to move on and accept us? Then it becomes a tough act to follow.
The Tough Act to Follow Dilemma
I’ve been determined to make a big impact since the day I got the job. I have a clear vision and a big change agenda, and I want to be a great leader, but my team is still going on about how good Martin was. At first, I brushed it aside as just my own insecurities talking, but I’ve been in the job now for three months, and I’m starting to get nervous. It appears as though the guy was like a father to them, and they don’t seem to accept me.
I noticed in the first Wednesday meeting that there were several times when Martin was mentioned—in quite reverential tones—but I bided my time, ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access
More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.