Hi Kent, all,

> I'm hoping Dale will jump in here, because he has a much
> better handle on these issues than I do. I'm not very good at
> staying "out of the sandbox", but I like the results when I
> do.

I'm not good at staying out of the sandbox either. But I've
gotten better at getting out once I notice I'm in. That's progress.

I'm focusing on a writing project right now, plus a few other
weekend tasks, and I don't have much time left over to think
about the topic at hand. If the thread still has legs after the
weekend I may have more time to reply. In the meantime, here are
a few pre-thought ideas that seem relevant.

Managers, being obligated to serve organizational intentions, and
being authorized to decide how to use the organization's
resources to serve those intentions, get to decide what they will
pay us for.

We, being adults, get to decide what we will do for the money and
other valuable things the organization provides for us, and get
to decide what else we want in exchange for and in support of our
services.

We and managers always have the option to seek to renegotiate any
of this.

Given that we're all XPers to some degree, we always have the
choice to interact with others, including managers, according to
the values we espouse: simplicity, respect, courage,
communication, and feedback.

A big part of courage is remembering that my needs matter. A big
part of respect is remembering that the other person's needs
matter. If I can remember these values I have a chance of
staying out of the sandbox, or of getting out gracefully.

Does any of that seem to apply?

Dale

--
Dale Emery, Consultant
Inspiring Leadership for Software People
Web: http://www.dhemery.com
Weblog: http://www.dhemery.com/cwd