update: I’m inheriting an employee who causes chaos wherever they go

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past.

There will be more posts than usual this week, so keep checking back throughout the day.

Remember the letter-writer who was inheriting an employee who causes chaos wherever they go? Here’s the update.

Thank you so much for taking my question several months ago about having a “chaos employee” forced upon my department.

I have an update and a feeling there will likely be a more dramatic addition some years down the road. I ended up talking my department out of taking on Pat! We dodged the bullet! I didn’t mention to my superiors any of the personal drama Pat carried with them, but rather convinced leadership that my staffers were hyper-focused on the projects they were assigned and the addition of an outside colleague would completely throw them off their workflows and postpone the completion of an important initiative. This was complete BS, but it worked!

Pat is still in their original department and looks to be a long-term fixture in our organization. Soon after I wrote, Pat’s manager went out on three-month medical leave, which meant (a) Pat made it through their probationary period without even receiving a year-end review and (b) Pat basically took over their department. A couple of desperate employees in that building jumped ship, replaced by workers who recognized Pat as leadership because … even after their return from medical leave, Pat’s incredibly passive manager just gave Pat free rein. It’s now basically “Pat’s department,” with rumors afloat that Pat is angling to take over that building once Official Manager retires (which wouldn’t be for many years, since Pat and Official Manager are the same age).

One of that department’s more recent hires — a staffer about 15 years younger than Pat — has become Pat’s Shadow. Any meeting Pat attends, Shadow sits in on too. Any project Pat develops, Shadow is involved in as well. They go everywhere, do everything together at work, and it’s obvious they’re tight outside the office too. None of this is inherently wrong, but it’s just striking to see Pat flanked at all times by their own personal (young) toady.

Upper admin appears to be relieved whatever unrest there was has passed in the Pat zone, and of late seem to actually be rather okay with the current state of affairs. Pat can be funny, engaging, and direct — qualities leadership finds amusing when they’re in the building. Pat makes up for the lack of direction and spinelessness of Official Manager. Maybe Pat’s past blurring of personal and professional boundaries was an anomaly, a flash in the pan, and going forward they’ll be nothing but respectful and courteous with their peers. Perhaps Pat is now a force of good…

Nah! There’s totally going to be some giant cluster&*%$ that explodes around Pat within my organization! The question is what and when. For now, I’m just glad my department didn’t have this bringer of chaos forced upon it! I’ll be sure to send an update when the dust settles around the next Pat chaos bomb.

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