Boy, have I been in this situation before!
My advice is to immediately notify your interim supervisor about all of this, including the effect her absences have on the timeliness of the project. Let him/her know that despite this, you will deliver the project as assigned at your usual level of quality. You can then rest assured that you have done your duty and it is the supervisor's responsibility to determine consequences for this individual.
Then you need to move forward and just do the work, since you are responsible for the delivery of the project. Schedule meetings for when she is supposed to be there but if she is not there, hold them anyway. Copy her on all your team's decisions but do not assign her any work that cannot be accomplished within a couple of hours on a day that she shows up. Do not make them time-delimited because you don't know if she will be there or not to complete the work in a timely manner. If she complains that she is being given scut work or that she is being left out of the decision-making loop, you can tell her that since she wasn't there you (as the project director) needed to move on without her. If she complains more, refer her to the interim supervisor ("I think you need to talk to Mr. X about that.") Document the dates she misses scheduled meetings and let Mr. X know. Consider whether or not to keep her name associated with the project if she doesn't do any work on it, and if you decide that her level of participation doesn't warrant it, discuss your decision with Mr. X and get his approval.
I reiterate that it is not your job to confront this co-worker or level disciplinary action—it is your mutual supervisor's. Work with her when she's there but don't count on her for anything. Ultimately she will either shape up or be fired, and you deal with that outcome when it happens. But if she gets fired, at least the project will be moving forward and the loss is not so devastating.
Julia Muney Moore
Public Art Administrator
Blackburn Architects, Indianapolis, IN
(317) 875-5500 x219
mobile (317) 460-0596
RFP TO INDIANA ARTISTS FOR INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: http://www.indflights.com/contracts/index.php
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gayle
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 3:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] ANONYMOUS REQUEST: How to Deal with a Problematic Coworker
I've received a request for assistance and am protecting the identify of the original poster. Please see the dilemma below and post to the list your suggestions how to deal with this conundrum. Many thanks to those who can offer guidance. It may be something some of you have experienced heretofore and can provide creative solutions.
I'm dealing with a coworker who is very unreliable and undependable. The rest of us never know when she will actually be in to work or how long she'll stay that day. When she is actually at work she is not a bad person to work with by any means. My boss is aware of this issue and it's been going on as long as I've worked there and from what I can gather, even longer than that. Currently my boss is away on leave and our interim supervisor is very clueless about all of this.
I am in charge of a project involving her and another coworker. It's hard to find time to meet as there is only 1 day a week when all 3 of us are there together at the same time. This project has been stalled because she repeatedly can't make meetings for one reason or another.
I had a meeting scheduled for today to discuss the project and make action plans for the upcoming weeks and months but she can't make it. I realize my most pressing concern is timely and there may not be any instantaneous replies, but I am in the "wrong" for going on with the meeting even though it will just be me and the other coworker? I feel not working on this project makes the institution look bad as it is related to our strategic plan and goals for the year and it's in our best interest to move forward.
Any thoughts on collaborating with this particular coworker?========================================================= Important Subscriber Information:
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========================================================= Important Subscriber Information:The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
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The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).