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Ask HN: I am good at something and I started doing it for free. Now what?

10 points by ChikkaChiChi ↗ HN
I've been working as the head of IT for the better part of 10 years. Over the past year, I've started working directly with the CEO to handle company operations.

I'm being told "we're not big on titles here" and that they will formalize my new role, but that was 3 months ago. It's a father/son company and historically has been a very flat hierarchy.

I've got the respect of the teams that goes exactly as far as it is convenient for them. Then it becomes a "aren't you just the IT guy?" remark of incredulity.

Has anyone else experienced a similar situation? Am I in a no-win scenario? Can or should I stop the portions of the job that go above and beyond? How can I bring this to a peaceful resolution without delivering an ultimatum?

17 comments

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thetrumanshow
"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will" --Frederick Douglass

Don't expect vague goodwill and intention to manifest itself as a mandate without being willing to take steps to ensure it happens.

Mankhool
Hence the dynamics of a family run businesses. In my experience they are ALL dysfunctional. You are in a no-win scenario precisely because it has been 3 months. You should stop the AAB portions of the job immediately and state your IT workload as the reason.
anigbrowl
Identify an area of waste in the operations pipeline and cut it. That will force a conflict and your CEO will either have to back you or explain why he doesn't want you saving the company money.
RougeFemme
Or the CEO will back him but still continue to stonewall on the additional money.
orangethirty
You lost any power you had by letting this to on for 3 months. Option right now are limited, and will ultimately put you in a bad light. Either force the hand, or start looking for another job. Note that by forcing the hand you might be forced to look for another job.

This sort of thing doesn't just happen. It is a pattern of abuse tht you have accepted overtime. Not because you are a fool, but due to it being your job. We keep compromising and overtime dig ourselves into a pretty deep hole.

ChikkaChiChi
This couldn't be more accurate. Unbelievably spot on.
brudgers
The pace of change within family businesses is often different than other ownership structures. On the one hand, the odds that you will be CEO are low. On the other hand, moving into the circle of trust can be permanent.

Keep in mind that on the timeline of family relationships, three months is nothing. Decide if you are in it for the long haul.

teyc
If you are working to handle operations, it is important to know what you are responsible and accountable for. If this has not been formalized, then there will be responsibilities that will fall through the gap. Titles are one thing, but roles and responsibilities are different. This has to be formalized. You boss could still override your decisions but at least it is clear that you are executing your job properly.
PonyGumbo
Put out some resumes, get a job offer. You'll be surprised at how seriously they take you when they realize that the guy who solves all of their problems is going away.
RougeFemme
Or get the job offer and leave. They may feel that they will do just fine without him.
acesubido
> Has anyone else experienced a similar situation? Am I in a no-win scenario? Can or should I stop the portions of the job that go above and beyond? How can I bring this to a peaceful resolution without delivering an ultimatum?

I saw family businesses of friends lose people who've worked with them for years without them telling them anything, maybe because those people experienced what you're experiencing. They would always tell me this bit: "we wish they approached us and talked, or at least some heads up that they got a new job".

You've hit a wall in your career, you're relying on spoken word from men instead of signed contracts - which is quite dangerous for your career path. Unless you're in it to actually develop and grow a long and deep relationship with the people, not the company, talk with them.

They've talked you into this position and you didn't sign anything, I think it's fitting to also talk to them as well, just tread tactfully. 10 years and that new "role" is enough to assume that they've come to embrace you as a key person in their father/son company and they would, hopefully, professionally hear you out.

You'll need to include them into your thought process. If you were to stop portions of the job on your own, they'll be quite surprised and it'll put you in really bad light. I mean, you've been working cleanly for 10 years and you suddenly changed after those months into the "new role", then they'll know something is amiss.

Also note that if you look for another job without telling them anything, it also puts you in a bad light. If they've slowly come to embrace you as family during those 10 years, they'll want to know why you're leaving.

RougeFemme
I think this could happen even in a business that's not family-run. . .large or small. You could use the operations experience to move on to another job - probably at a small company - where your title and salary reflect the operations experience. I've had to do this. Just make sure your resume reflects the operations experience and your cover letter highlights it.
msamiry
As one of the commenters said, it's not only in family business, however you should ask for your rights with preparing a backup plan of finding another job, this is to be in parallel.