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How would you respond to this

 
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I had a weird situation the other day. I have this pet project at work (no immediate ROI but long term ROI is good.) I was always encouraged and appreciated for taking this upon myself in my spare time. Just the other day, one of the cowboys in the group was commenting on how he could take over my pet project while I continue to do my grunt work to reduce my "burden". I responded by saying that it is important for me to be challenged and this project is my way of challenging myself in my work.

How would you have responded?
 
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This isn't that weird, it happens all the time. What it says is that this "cowboy" thinks your pet project has merit and will bring praise to the person who completes it. If he's a management favorite, you should just let him take it and come up with another one even better. Another choice would be to suggest that you would be glad to have his assistance, but would like to retain the project management and design responsibility, this might fly since most cowboys are quite poor at these tasks.
 
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I would let him take it and also give him guidence if he needs some. You can always get another if only you spend sometime looking for one.

Vasu
 
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But then what if he takes that too. Are u saying that Prema should be continually exploited by him?

Originally posted by vasu maj:
I would let him take it and also give him guidence if he needs some. You can always get another if only you spend sometime looking for one.

Vasu

 
vasu maj
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If he is doing it with good intentions then she should let him do it. If he is trying to exploit her then she should take him to the office canteen and kill him by mixing poison in his coffee( do you follow Ukraninan politics?)

And then live happily ever after.


Vasu
 
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There is a usually a very fine line between a well-wishing colleague and an exploiting colleague. And most of the time, the roles interchange. The truth is, its in the right of a manager inherently to exploit a team mate. Thats how he will be able to get the best out of his men. Thats what he is there for, he is the leader and he leads by showing the path.

But the rules change when your colleagues/equivalents try to exploit you. Now, if your colleague is concentrated towards productivity, its good that you deal and share your work with him because you end up completing your projects on hand quite quickly. You grow, you help him grow, you get the work done and you acquire reputation. But..... if your colleague is an exploiter, if his real intention is to "completely" take over the project from you, finish it (its usually easy to complete a project thats past the design phase) and gain the entire merit for himself, then you better be careful.

Politely decline, saying either that you are not completely through with the design part or that you believe that its a single person's job. Maintain the relationship, because you never know when you might require that person's help in the future (deserately, that is ). But protect your own integrity by standing firm on your decision.
 
peter wooster
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I've been here myself, the best bet if your a "plant" type in the Belbin team roles is to let the "completor finisher" or "shaper" take the project. Just make sure that management knows where they got it. So write the document, describe the design, send it to the "cowboy" and cc his management. After a few of these, management will label you an "idea person".

I knew a woman who was a "plant-shaper" who founded numerous branches of a small entrepreneurial company, hired some of the best staff and always moved on to the next thing eventually getting laid off, then she became a VP in a large national media company.

As Lao-Tsu said "work is done, and then forgotten, thus it lasts forever".
 
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