From the sound of it, you could actually *teach* the grant writing workshop!

There's got to be a way to (nicely) shut down this behavior of hers. Do you think it's coming from a place of truly wanting to help, or is it about something else? It sounds like she might not realize that you have as much experience as you do... and while, really, it's none of her business, I can see how she might (maybe) think she's being "helpful".

How are you responding?

I really hate to say it, and maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like one of those instances where, if you were a man, your experience/authority wouldn't be questioned. Did you see the article a couple months back about the two resume writers working together, for the same boss? The boss insisted that the woman was doing a poorer job, was slower, not getting enough done. Then, one day, the male employee accidentally used the woman's email signature (they shared an email account) - and suddenly, he was getting pushback, questions, and responses that he never, ever got - from the same client base. Instead of taking his suggestions, the clients were questioning everything he did. And these were clients he had already been working with, who he had no problems with before.

As an experiment, they traded "names" for a week or so, and that response held up. The woman had the most productive week that she'd had since she started working there, and the man suddenly found he couldn't get anything done.

This is sad and amazing to me.

I'm not sure what the right way to address it is either. In theory, as you continue working for them and she sees that you're effective and getting results, you'd think/hope that her desire to "help" would decrease (she'd gain confidence in you, and back off a little). But, if she's a micromanager by nature... that might not happen.

Since she's an administrative person, and not your supervisor, are there any repercussions of just politely telling her, "thanks for the advice, I'll consider that" and going about your business?

Personally, I'd probably try to use a little humor and develop rapport with her, and I'd point out something like, "Thanks for pointing out the workshop, but I've been working with this group long enough that I could *teach* it!" (I think to make that work, you have to be able to play it off a bit though, sort of laugh at the situation and make it seem like no big deal, and I don't know if that would work here or if you'd be comfortable with it.)

re: The web copy, yeah - I'd definitely vote for not taking on unpaid work. Especially since, if she's not asking you for help, your advice might be unwelcome - in the same way that her advice about the workshop is.

Good luck!

Edit: I found the article, if you're curious:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b054a0ea6a4066