Workplace Culture

» alloverthere - Other than the standard two weeks notice you give your boss when

Hello,

I'm in a slightly complicated position and need some advice about how to leave without causing too much fuss and bad feelings.

I work in an intl development organisation in South East Asia. It's one of the best organisations in its field and has good projects all over the world, which is what attracted me to them in the first place. I hadn't worked in development previously (rather, business) but found my feet when living in Africa on volunteer projects there and subsequently succeeded in attaining this job based on previous work experience and the volunteer work I did.

I was sent to my post 9 months ago after having worked in Africa for a year before.

Unfortunately, the experience has been miserable from the beginning. I gave it 6 months to December to improve but it hasn't.

I have been offered the opportunity of returning to my volunteer project in Africa but now as a paid Director - manager - rather than a volunteer, and the chance to grow it. My heart is there and I want to leave where I am now and return to where I was before. I wouldn't have left there in the first place if I ahdn't run out of money and had to find a real job and I was lucky that this opportunity came up with this great organisation.

I really like my organisation at the head office level - the people there I met in a week training last year and the work they do around the world. There are many opportunities to freelance for them in future and I want to have that chance. However, it's my boss here on the ground who is causing the issues and the reason I can't stand my job. She used to work in our head office but was sent here 3 years ago and so is familiar with the people there and vica versa.

The problem has been in her attitude towards the people and projects we work on. If I listed all the problems it would run to pages, but the main issues are that she contradicts herself and her own instructions virtually every other day. She tells me one thing one day, then acts as if she never said such a thing the next day, and then goes back to the original thing sometime later. I dismissed it at first but it's become worse. I suggested changes that could help support our project that I'm managing which is in another country and in which the partners there are doing NOTHING and I'm responsible for it and she agreed with me while I was there, but as soon as I returned she dismissed the idea saying it was their managers who were responsible, meanwhile I have no support to move the projects forward. We have partners there doing nothing, yet they could support our efforts with the other partner. She told me not to contact them to push things as ít's not their job. She also said the two staff there are 'higher up than those tasks',...' Well what the hell are they partners for? Then now things still haven't moved despite my repeated visits and requests she asks me why I don't forward things to these same partners who are above that? Then a month ago a partner there suggested the idea I had months ago and she said, óh what a great idea...I nearly hit the roof. She is working on many of her own projects on the side, some of which compete with our official projects, and some of our participants express concerns and she doesn't realise it's her conflict of interest and is blaming others. I had to select participants for the first part of another project here and she knows them well and took responsibility for it - ordered it - saying our selection wasn't right. Then when we got to working with them she told us the selection was wrong (when she'd done it...) meanwhile we'd employed people to begin working on it...this kind of thing happens every day. Other associates are also expressing their frustrations.

I'm not supposed to go to those I know from head office, but as they give us inputs for training and so on, in the politest way possible I've tried to express that I'm having trouble because others keep changing decisions and neither of my project managers in the field are effective. The one here in the country I live is useless, commonly acknowledged by everyone, and my boss hired him! I came into both projects 6 months after they were late - behind schedule - and am expected to work with incompetent people and in projects that have been badly (in my opinion) designed, and then have the rules changed constantly.

Anyway, I can't work like this. Not being able to make decisions and have to wait for others to act who don't do anything. My hands being tied, yet trying to manage projects in different countries, constantly traveling, and arranging masses of inputs from consultants around the world, all the logistics...and having the ground rules changed every other day is impossible. I've tried to let it go, to just get on with things my best way, but it comes back to not being able to act. And then her excuse is always, 'we're working in developing countries, they're developing...' I lost my temper this morning and said, they might be developing, but I'm the only one doing ANYTHING.

I am resigning. I can't stand it here. I'm very disappointed that it hasn't worked out but, by the same token, extremely happuy and excited to return to the place and work that I loved.

How do I do this nicely? Is there any nice way of expressing the issues without ruflling feathers?

Everyone in head office will be disappointed and want answers. What do I say? My boss now, by the way, is also leaving in June. I felt guilty about also leaving, thus leaving no one in the office with knowledge, but that guilt is now gone as I am doing what's right for me. However, they'll want an explanation. I'm loathe to put my real thoughts down though. What's worse, three of them are visiting next month when we conduct training workshops to the other country where the issues are and will want to discuss it then, I'm sure. However I just found out my boss is also now coming on that trip...

What to do?

Your insight is much appreciated.

Also, I'm giving 10 weeks notice. That's no issue. It's just what to say...thanks!

-- posted by alloverthere