I didn't get to help choose my new boss (absurd IMO)
Interesting to see how strong of a reaction this complaint generated and probably also tells me that my expectation for a collaborative and involved workplace is too high, no matter that this place talks about it all the time. It would have been nice to be involved in the selection process, but my complaint wasn't that *I* wasn't involved, it was that no one was involved. I would have hoped at least someone other than the hiring manager would have been part of the selection process, perhaps interviewed the candidate and discussed his qualifications. I understand reorgs and changes happen, but having a new boss come in with no input from anyone except the hiring manager, then having the new boss reorg the department without talking to anyone in it, is a pretty stark contrast between the collaborative rhetoric and a new autocratic style. I am concerned that with no input from the team, this guy's major qualification could be that he is friends with the hiring manager and his first few actions are doing nothing to alleviate that concern. I am also concerned that this new autocratic style presages other changes that will negatively impact the working environment and make my last few years here much more difficult to live with.
Before I elicit another round of condemnation, let me emphasize, I am describing my concerns here, but not at work, not even in private conversations at work. They have no idea of my hopes to ER in a few years, and they have no idea of my reservations about this new boss and I am trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. or at least an opportunity to grow into the job. They are aware that I am concerned about turnover and I am actively helping recruit new engineers, but that's about it. I did volunteer several ideas in the (now controversial) brainstorming meeting that will solve this problem, at least two of which involve no cost (except to me) and can be done immediately. What I withheld was another idea that accomplishes the same thing, that I thought was noteworthy because it is the MOST OBVIOUS idea, because we've done it before and it was even on the slide set. How obvious can it be. Maybe being so obvious is what prevented anyone from mentioning it, It also involves no cost (except to me) and can be done immediately, but may or may not be superior to the others. What I thought noteworthy was other people who also know it, didn't mention it either, which may be a clue to their attitudes or states of mind, or maybe everyone was just tired. I don't know.
I don't know about the idea that I am somehow disloyal and costing the company money by withholding a possible solution. The meeting ended with no action items and no plan for what to do next. I talked to the machine guy immediately afterward and arranged to try one of my fixes. I think I'm being proactive and working to save the company money. They (hopefully) will not have to run the machine overtime or buy a new one. The people who would have to make those decisions know what I am suggesting and know that I am trying it Monday. I think I am being helpful, without impacting my official job assignment, and volunteering my own time to address this issue (in another department). Potentially I could be costing the company money by not advising everyone else that I am trying a fix, so they may be wasting effort trying something on their own, but we had no discussion about actions to be taken nor any opportunity to say what might be tried or when. Machine guys are not aware of any such efforts underway. I suppose I could proactively go talk to everyone who might be involved in an effort to help and tell them what I'm trying, but that makes me feel acutely uncomfortable and smacks of self promotion much more than any effort to helpfully prevent them from wasting effort. I think that could be taken as openly hostile to my new boss and whatever he is doing, so I am very reluctant to try anything like that. I am concerned that I could be blindsiding my new boss if he is unaware of my extracurricular activities on this issue (thanks for feedback) so I will try to get at least him uptodate as soon as I can.
And I think my next task is to think through Plan A, Plan B, Plan C for what I want to do if this collapse is as bad as I think it's going to be, or maybe if it can be made tolerable or not. Or maybe one of those plans has to be what to do if I'm fired, since there seems to be at least some management schools of thought that I've been behaving badly, and if that idea is shared by my new boss I think that could easily happen. (Again, thanks for the feedback, I would not have otherwise anticipated this possibility).