Submitted by rjchief on
in
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I'm an attorney at a mid-large corporation with 8 attorneys in North America. I was promoted last year to manage a team of attorneys that now numbers three. Until that time, my boss had no managers reporting to him -- he was directly responsible for all attorneys in the department. We've spent the past year going through some significant growing pains as a result - constant skipping to my directs; demands for information on an instant basis; petty demonstrations of authority. A lot of that has been resolved over time.
Now, one of my directs has resigned - one that used to report to him, and which he hired - and we are beginning the hiring process. My boss has demanded to be in every meeting about her transition, her work assignments, her communications to others about her departure. He asked me to draft an announcement for me to management, which he then sent out without telling me, then made a point to say that he, not I, was getting all the kind and thoughtful notes back - but he wouldn't share them with me. He won't allow me to select resumes for screening - we have to review them together at the same time and decide together. When I showed up having read the resumes ahead of time yesterday, I was rebuked, saying it was "inefficient" for me to read the resumes before he does. And when his network produces a candidate, he's created an entirely separate fast-track, side process outside of our HR-driven process to consider those candidates. I suggested the manager tools method of interviewing per Mike & Mark's suggestions (three interviews by me, start with a phone screen, ask for others to interview, do a capture meeting, etc.) and that was rejected without discussion - he wants to interview on the same day I conduct my first interview, and it should be on site. Simply put, he demands total control.
As the hiring manager, I want my boss' input in the process. I don't want to hire someone he doesn't like. He is an absolute must-interview. But at this point, this entire process seems designed to marginalize me and my role. I also feel pretty helpless to change this dynamic. Any suggestions on how I might influence this train wreck?