[StuckinRut]

Hi

I've recently started a new job. I was given a new task, last week. I soon learned that the task was already late, as it should have begun several months ago. I also discovered that there was a deadline later that week. I missed the deadline. I feel a bit upset that I wasn't told about these things at the beginning. Anyway, it seems, that I've already gotten off to a bad start with the manager in charge. To make matters worse, my instinct tells me that there might be a clash of personalities between me and this manager. I wonder if he is the kind of manager who tries to stimulate activity by setting last minute deadlines. I would hate this, and prefer to know about deadlines well in advance. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this?

[mazing]

Can you arrange a time to sit with your manager to talk about expectations? It seems you have been thrown in very quickly with very little support. It can take time for you and your manager to learn the best way to work together and so hopefully you can work it out.

Could you sit down and talk about the project and any future deadlines? Explain that you want to be able to work effectively and to do that would like to have the deadlines communicated as early as possible. Hopefully it is just that your manager doesn't yet understand the way you like to work and that they are open to discussion about different ways to manage things.

[StuckinRut]

Thanks for your helpful reply. It's much appreciated. I think that sounds like a very good idea. I suspect that the manager is a bit anxious about the project, due to the delayed start. Also he doesn't not really know me yet, so he cannot be sure how well I will engage with the task. One slight problem is that a short meeting, involving all interested parties, has already been scheduled for Monday afternoon. It would have been better for me to meet with him, on a one-to-one level, ahead of this. Hopefully the group meeting won't raise additional problems. I will send him an email, tomorrow morning suggesting that we have an individual meeting later in the week.

[mazing]

Hopefully you can sort this out Good luck! Please let us know how it goes.