[NFBCS] Unrealistic expectations of team leaders and supervisors on the job

[Brian Buhrow]

	hello Michael.  There will be as many opinions on this topic as there
are members of this list.  Here are my thoughts, for what it's worth.
this can be a tricky issue, but most understandings can be resolved with
open communication.  Here are some rules of thumb I use in my work to try
and answer these questions:

1.  Accessibility is not my boss's problem.  If my boss makes a request of
me, it is my task to figure out how to do it, and, if some of the issues
that present obstacles in achieving that task are access related, it's my
duty to figure out exactly what they are and then figure out a solution to
address them.  If the solution involves purchasing a device, software or
some consulting time for assistance, then I can go to my boss with a
specific request about exactly what I need, along with an explanation of
how it will help me.  However, I cannot go to my boss and ask them to help
find the access solution to the problem.  They don't know access technology
and they don't know how I work and accomplish things.  And, going to them
and asking for their assistance in this way makes them feel inadequate, as
well as causing them to wonder if you can do the job.  In most cases, the
boss wants to help and do the right thing, but when you present them with a
problem they don't know how to solve and for which they don't have the
tools to know how to solve, you're creating an awkward situation that will
not work out well for yourself in the end.
So, stick to concrete scoped requests when making accessibility requests of
your boss.

2.iiiiiiiiiii  If you have co-workers with whom you work on projects, learn to barter
with them and they can help you with some of the tasks that are more
challenging.  For example, if you're particularly good at a particular
aspect of the work you do with your teamates, perhaps you can do a bit of
extra work in that area on their behalf in exchange for some of their time
to help you with a challenging task.  For example, when I worked at the
University some years ago, I was good at analyzing data and converting it
from one format to another.  But, as a totally blind person, I was not so
quick at reading agraph and gathering the high level information from it
from the outset.  To solve that problem, I often took graphs and charts to
my co-worker and he would read them to me for a few minutes to give me an
overview of what they conveyed.  In exchange, I often did little
programming favors for him to get some of his projects done.  This was just
one example and I expect this will play out in a variety of ways with a
variety of people at your workplace, depending on your work relationship
with them and your interpersonal tempraments; I only offer it to give you
some ideas on how to approach the issue.

3.  If there is a particular thing that you don't know how to do, ask
around; on this list, other lists, with other friends who are blind.  They
don't need to necessarily knowabout computers or how to do your job to give
you ideas on how to proceed.

	In this time of Covid-19 and everyone working from home, some of these
ideas will be harder to execute.  Still, there's Zoom itself, the telephone
line, and, of course, your own enginuity.

Hope this helps.
-Brian
On Nov 25,  7:19pm, Michael Walker via NFBCS wrote:
} Subject: [NFBCS] Unrealistic expectations of team leaders and supervisors 
} Good evening,
} 
} How do you cope with determining whether expectations of a team leader or supervisor are realistic? Suppose expectations are not realistic, or there are misconceptions about what you can do on the job in this field. How do you approach that? Tell me some stories where you have faced that, and what you did about it. I am completely blind. I am currently experiencing some conflict with my team leader on this subject. She sometimes has beliefs about what I am not able to do, or may have unrealistic expectations about what I can do, regarding possibly frontend development.
} 
} Thank you,
} Mike
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>-- End of excerpt from Michael Walker via NFBCS