How to protect yourself from being misrepresented by others?

Question

This can be a problem stemming either from the boss, or co-workers competing for promotions. Examples include(what other people do) - writing inaccurate details in email causing other people(who may or may not have a good understanding of the work we're doing) get wrong impressions - passing comments which are not true objectively, distorting reality. I'm not insinuating that people I work with are evil, in fact, I keep a positive attitude and give them the benefit of doubt. But there are 10% of people who employ such cheap tactics to create a stressful environment.I would like some opinions on the kind of challenges people face, and how do they handle such challenges at their workplace. I'm a data analyst and would prefer to hear from experienced people with a similar work profile.

Answer 1

Technical topics are often difficult to explain to some people, specially non-technical bosses and other people. Making things worst are people who deliberately (do not ever think they are nahive) misrepresent things taking advantage of the complexity of the themes beign discussed. From my 30 years of experience working in information systems, I have seen this just as you descibe it. If you are a talented person, you are seen as a menace to their careers and they will do eveything in their power to make you look bad, specially if you have a boss who's less talented than you.

If you have that kind of boss, there are some things you can do. Here is a list from the extreme and bold to the more subtle ones.

1. You could talk to your boss's boss, if you think she/he is capable of understanding the issue, and try to get your boss fired and you get his/her post. The consequences of this is that your current boss is going to be your enemy for the rest of your life and people will see you as a barracuda who can take people down. It would be a very stressfull situation as your boss's boss might call your boss and confront you two. It is a very risky move if your boss is very appreciated for other talents he may have. This action should be a calculated risk, as, when you try it, it could backfire and it would be you who could get fired by your boss.
2. Find another job and quit. These could be an elegant and less stressful way of handling the situation. Sometimes this might not be an option.
3. If you can not get your boss fired and you can not quit your job, try an internal transfer with another boss. Sometimes the problem is the big boss and this would not work either. In that case, #2 is a better option.

If the problem is not your boss and you want to grow professionally, and still be in the company, try calling things by its name, if higher management is competent. If people misrepresent things, write to management clarfying things and use ethics as the reason for doing so. Ethics command that you should be truthful in your professional assesments and call upon false and unprofessional behavior in good faith. Take the higher ground, the moral stance galantly, and do call people's bluff. But most importantly, if you make a mistake, take responsibility openly, inmmediately and try to solve the problem.

I hope this can help you.