Why haven't I yet met my new boss?

[livingston]

Hello all:

I am currently reporting to an out of town manager. My position is such that it is basically just me performing the tasks of this department. My boss recently told me that my department will be reporting to another division and that my new boss is a new hire. I am apparently his only direct report. Fast forward...he has now been at the company for a month and has yet to acknowledge my presence. It is currently unofficial that I am reporting to him but I am a little offended that he has made no effort to contact me.

I trust that my old/current boss would not give me bad information so the fact that the new guy has been to visit several plant sites but hasn't met me is a little strange to me. Am I overreacting or overly concerned?

 

[PeterStock]

On one contract position I had, I switched to 2nd shift. I ran out of work soon after. I think that if I had not switched to 2nd shift, I would have been more visable and been given more work. On the other hand I might have been let go eariler, I was just a job shopper.

Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services

http://www.infotechpr.net

 

[livingston]

I get what you are saying about being visible but how do I ensure that he doesn't see that as needing hand-holding? A fine line I know. In the past, I have just sent weekly updates on the task he assigned. I'm still feeling my way with this new guy. He's trying to learn everything at once and I don't want to be just one more issue to keep track of.

 

[ykee]

That one might be a little hard for me to answer, depends on what exactly you do, and how the org. is set up.

I understand your concern, nobody wants to be the brown-noser (well, some people do!) that is always saying "look at me" or the person that needs hand-holding, but I think there is a difference between that and being visible. I think being visisble is all about communicating appropriately, be it reporting, making requests, flagging issues etc.

 

[racookpe1978]

Ask him, but give him YOUR preferences at the same time:

"What do you need from me next, and when do you need it?"

"What's your preference? Daily (formal) status reports, weekly phone calls? Or only report when I finish the section, or if there's a problem keeping schedule?"

"When are your reports due, and what do you need from me to support them?"

 

[TDAA]

Shoot him an email, and say you know he is busy with other things, so you will just give him brief updates of where you are at unless he needs more or less form you.

You could then just keep it to any resources you might need, percent completion or milestones, or an outlook of when you will need more to do.