[darkpuppet]

.. oh, I'm in services... right in the revenue stream.

I don't really have a problem that needs to be solved per se... since I've already made my moves and whatnot -- and I could pretty much guarantee I would have gotten the team lead position -- it's not really more $$ (other than OT), but it is more exposure that I need to move up the chain more.

I actually did get maxed out on recognition awards this year for my work on the old project -- so the recognition is there, but like I said, there were politics involved and some people were well connected (and covered).

And that doesn't really change no matter what company you go to work for.

However, what happens when a protege embarrasses their mentor? Things inevitably swing the other way.. and I see it happening soon.

Now since I'm already off the project, there's not much that changes that, but without other team members around, her work is starting to speak for itself and I don't have to raise a finger.

I just posted a rant to get it off my chest.. it's my job to obsess about the details, and thinking off several missed opportunities is just -- well -- frustrating.

Anyways... to put the story in full perspective as far as work is involved...

Me and two other resources started on the project. I was the low man on the totem.

I identified gaps in process and design, discussed with the lead on the project and got no feedback... so I escalated as the project was going to tank quickly.

After escalation, other resources were brought in to cover the gaps. The current team lead at the time wanted me to be team lead as I had more experience with our company's methodologies and work products.

New resources were brought in to help.. the girl in question was brought in by a senior resource that was brought in (and is often brought in) to help fix critical projects.

In fact, it's likely these two people were dating at one point as well, and they were quite chummy.

Anyways, I delegate work to this girl and tell her to come to me if she has any problems. I had documented our look and feel, how to do the development, and we had a little tutorial to get the new developers started.

I asked over the next week or so if she needed any help, how it was coming along, etc... and asked when I could have it to peer review.

So I go to review her work product with the customer as a way for me to do a peer review and check her work against the customer requirements (and gather info on how to improve it). At the meeting with the customer, it was obvious that nothing worked or looked as it should -- despite all the documentation she had to help and insistance that she was doing just fine.

She in fact marked her progress on that work product as 100% complete.

So I went back to her, told her what needed to be fixed (3 times), and she never made the appropriate fixes.. and I updated her status on the form to 60%.

Then I went camping with you guys.

When I got back, the project manager that was brought on wasn't inviting me to meetings I should have been invited to, and I felt the senior guy and the PM pushing me out of the leadership role.

I asked for clarification of roles at which time, they picked the current team lead (and she's awesome -- very collaborative, open minded and intelligent)..

So I went to the PM and asked what was up...

well, apparently, I offended this girl -- and later on I found out they gossipped about it at a team lunch they had while I was away. So suddenly I was labeled as a trouble resource that surprised the people that I started the project with, and was orchestrated by the new people that recently joined.

as time would go on, I would end up redoing absolutely everything this girl did. There was NOTHING that she did according to our design or by accepted methods or practices... but the damage was done... Nobody could deny my technical skills, but there were 3 people that questioned my leadership ability (tho not the people I started with).

Over time, the PM would leave the project and a Senior PM was brought in to clean up... I would be consulted by everyone on the team for help with their work -- all, except this girl.. and in the end, most of the team would admit that her work product was abysmal.

Putting in the hours I did to recover from her mistakes led to the previously mentioned recognition awards, a third year in a row requiring special permit for me to work the hours I was working from the federal government and a very positive performance review.

However, even though my manager said, and I quote, "We can put you on any project our team would ever get, and we'll get you more leadership positions", there was still the, "just keep working on your leaderhip skills, like how to approach people with tact"... whch really boils down to the one complaint against me.

And I asked many times for other examples where I haven't shown tact (as I need to identify the behaviour if I'm going to change it), and they can't give me any more examples.

So there you have it... it's just one of those things where I pissed off the wrong person at the wrong time and I paid for it... Being new to the group I probably should have been a bit more careful, but now that I'm making a positive name for myself, there are many opportunities opening up.