Backing up

Dear Bob …

A year ago, I was a Server Support Supervisor. I accepted a new position in another division a year ago. It was the smartest move I’ve made.

I was recently told, in confidence, that the server backup process in my old area had to be cancelled because it was taking too much time. I explained the importance of backing up these servers.

I also pointed him to some documentation I had created on some fall-back techniques for keeping the backups short enough to fit into the schedule. His response was that he had been instructed to ignore my documentation – to leave the backup jobs alone. He also told me that I was not going to get a sympathetic ear from anyone in that area because none of them liked me. They didn’t care if my SQL servers got backed up or not. (His new supervisor used to report to me and was promoted to my position when I moved.)

How childish is this? First of all, backups are of major importance. How do you recover from a disaster, whatever the size, if you do not backup your data? Second, the SQL servers do not belong to me nor does the data contained on them. They belong to the Department. Backups are within their job responsibilities. It is irrelevant how they feel about me.

I might add that I am a woman and a few years older than the men who worked for me. They resented the fact that I was a woman and their supervisor. They continually argued with me and treated me with disrespect. When I discussed the situation with my supervisor and asked for advice in handling this, I was told to suck it up and move on. I shouldn’t make a big deal out of things. When the opportunity came to move to another position, I jumped on it.

I don’t want to be labeled a troublemaker. Nor do I want to get the person in trouble who told me about the backup situation. If they are not backing up these servers because they think they are doing me a personal favor, this is a serious problem. I don’t feel that I can sit on my hands and do nothing.

– Wanting to do something

Dear Wanting …

I had two reactions to your letter. The first was that you are, of course, right, and it has to be frustrating to watch this happening.

The second was that this isn’t your problem.

I admire your conscientiousness and sense of personal ownership. Those are good traits to have.

You know the word “but” is hanging in the air waiting to be said, so I’m going to say it. But:

You have, I presume, a job for which you’re responsible. The transfer means you aren’t responsible for your old area any more. More than that, as your friend made clear, they don’t like you over there. Which means not only don’t you have any organizational responsibility for difficulties that arise, but there’s no particular reason to feel any personal loyalty to the folks you used to lead.

So at the risk of sounding cold and harsh, let them fail. They might try to blame you for the problems that arise. It has, however, already been a year since you left; by the time anything serious goes wrong it will be longer than that. And while blaming your predecessor is a valuable and frequently exercised weapon in the arsenal of personal defense, it does have a half-life beyond which its usefulness diminishes beyond the point of effectiveness.

Put it differently: Whoever decided to cancel the backups doesn’t deserve to be retained as an employee. Imagine you push hard and succeed in making your case. If you do, you’ll also achieve two other, unintended consequences. The first is that everyone there will resent you even more than they do right now – you don’t think being right endears you to anyone, do you?

The second unintended consequence is that you’ll enhance the career of the very individual who should be shown the door.

All in all, I’d say the negatives outweigh the positives. So consign yourself to being a spectator at coming train wreck.

When it happens, enjoy the show.

– Bob

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