week2week
09-30-2005, 06:19 AM
My background is mechanical. I'm the lead person onsite for the current project. Given that the project requires electrical, mechanical, & controls backgrounds, I rely heavily on those other people to be competent and do their job well and do it right the first time. I'm now in a situation where I'm working with an older guy, J, who has got lots of experience in the industry. However, he doesn't have much experience AT ALL for our control system for this project. He also comes to site with some character/personality question marks on his dossier.
So far, my confidence in him is just a little bit more than it was when he first arrived to site 2 weeks ago. At times, he seems to have a grasp and be able to identify a problem's cause. Other times, I feel as if I could troubleshoot the controls problem myself. Yesterday, I had reason to believe some of the rumor I had heard from other people about J. We've now got an issue where if you make a suggestion, then it becomes the absolute answer to the problem. If you say, "Well, okay, maybe it's not that and we should consider X.", and he'll reply, "Yeah, and I think it's also Y too." Then, X&Y become the root causes of the problem. He just runs with whatever is suggested, and he never seems to be definitive with his diagnostics. Its gotten to an extent that is not very plausible, and I'm left sitting there listening to him make his argument as I sit there thinking, "What the hell are you talking about? If that were the case, then we'd have known long ago."
He wants to make a science project out of everything is the way it seems to me, and it doesn't help that I have to show him how to do some stuff and remind him of others. He's a good guy...fairly easy to get along with in the office...does have experience & insight that is useful at times. I question whether or not J can REALLY get in the water and start swimming HARD on this project, so to speak. I lost the guy previous to J due to a family issue, and I need J to be like the previous guy. I didn't have to say a word to the previous guy, because he got it. He just knew. I could totally rely on him to interpret, diagnose, and solve a problem. I don't have that with J.
So, do I continue to give J more time to get used to the new system and believe that his previous experience will carry through?
I'm thinking that his vacation beginning the week after next is a good time to make request and switch.
How much time should you expect someone to be performing before you know that the given task (not job -- as in occupation, but projects, assignments, etc.) is not suitable for the personnel assigned?
For my field, I can usually tell if someone knows their shit and what they're saying is true after about 4 days of being around them. J has run counter to this since it's day to day with my level of comfort in his answers.
Also, when I feel like J is going off on his tangents, I am usually silent and just let him speak and give minimal in my response. I feel it's better to do this than to call him out and say that I think he's lost the plot on the problem, and then later on cut him off on it if he continues to harp about it to others. Should I call bull when I hear it, or let is pass?
It's been working so far.
So far, my confidence in him is just a little bit more than it was when he first arrived to site 2 weeks ago. At times, he seems to have a grasp and be able to identify a problem's cause. Other times, I feel as if I could troubleshoot the controls problem myself. Yesterday, I had reason to believe some of the rumor I had heard from other people about J. We've now got an issue where if you make a suggestion, then it becomes the absolute answer to the problem. If you say, "Well, okay, maybe it's not that and we should consider X.", and he'll reply, "Yeah, and I think it's also Y too." Then, X&Y become the root causes of the problem. He just runs with whatever is suggested, and he never seems to be definitive with his diagnostics. Its gotten to an extent that is not very plausible, and I'm left sitting there listening to him make his argument as I sit there thinking, "What the hell are you talking about? If that were the case, then we'd have known long ago."
He wants to make a science project out of everything is the way it seems to me, and it doesn't help that I have to show him how to do some stuff and remind him of others. He's a good guy...fairly easy to get along with in the office...does have experience & insight that is useful at times. I question whether or not J can REALLY get in the water and start swimming HARD on this project, so to speak. I lost the guy previous to J due to a family issue, and I need J to be like the previous guy. I didn't have to say a word to the previous guy, because he got it. He just knew. I could totally rely on him to interpret, diagnose, and solve a problem. I don't have that with J.
So, do I continue to give J more time to get used to the new system and believe that his previous experience will carry through?
I'm thinking that his vacation beginning the week after next is a good time to make request and switch.
How much time should you expect someone to be performing before you know that the given task (not job -- as in occupation, but projects, assignments, etc.) is not suitable for the personnel assigned?
For my field, I can usually tell if someone knows their shit and what they're saying is true after about 4 days of being around them. J has run counter to this since it's day to day with my level of comfort in his answers.
Also, when I feel like J is going off on his tangents, I am usually silent and just let him speak and give minimal in my response. I feel it's better to do this than to call him out and say that I think he's lost the plot on the problem, and then later on cut him off on it if he continues to harp about it to others. Should I call bull when I hear it, or let is pass?
It's been working so far.