Dan 6: Dan & the NEWER Boss

Okaaay, yesterday was the beginning of an interesting experience - in that "interesting" way that makes you wish for dull and boring. We got the announcement of a new boss coming - a new Vice President who will be above Dan the Hyper-Active Boss Man.

The problem is: Dan, who is a Director just under the current Veep (who wears two hats and has long expressed a desire to split-off his department responsibilities), Dan interviewed the new VP two months ago - under the impression that he was interviewing someone who would be one of his reporting Managers. Awkward, yes?

More than awkward - a lie. Not by the current two-hatted Veep: he thought the interview was for a Manager, too.

Or so he was told by the new President, in office for only a couple of months now, who presented it as acquiescing to a long-standing request to fill the vacant Manager's position. "Yeah, I know this guy from my old firm. Maybe he'll work out here. Have Dan take a look at him."

So Dan did. He wasn't terribly impressed. However, taking the Veep's advice that "Dan, you aren't connecting too well with the new President and the Board, don't pick a fight on this one. Interview a few others and make your recommendations as a group. Maybe he's the best available or maybe you'll find a better candidate, but don't knock him out right away - that'll look like an outright rejection. And, either way, you'll get to expand your department."

That was an argument that Dan could buy into, so he wrote his "Not terribly impressed, but appears competent and qualified" notes and waited to compare notes on the next interviewees.

As it turned out, what with other priorities, Dan didn't get around to interviewing any other Manager candidates. Annual Budget Review came around a couple of weeks ago, though, and - unhappy surprise - the Manager position was cut from the Budget.

Then - happy surprise - a new Vice President slot was put in the budget. Since Dan has had reasonable expectations of becoming a VP based on his record of accomplishment and de facto running of the department for the past 3 years, he was happy happy with the allocation.

Oddly, the current Veep was not so happy. Despite his long-standing wish to split-off responsibilities, he felt uncomfortable that he hadn't been consulted about this decision.

But his unhappiness was nothing compared to Dan's when they both learned, the next day, yesterday, the day before Thanksgiving holiday, that the new Vice President was going to be the man they had both interviewed as Dan's supposed subordinate Manager!

The announcement came from the President and Board of Directors came by timed email that arrived a half-hour before the end of business day. The President had already left for the long Thanksgiving weekend.