Their Personality 180 Is Not Polished

I work in the marketing office of a small college and we had a new department VP. She has been on the job for about two weeks, and she has yet to converse with me for more than five minutes. We have a half-page ad promoting some autumn homecoming activities due in the local paper.

VP: “I don’t like any of the established brand colors, logo, or typefaces. The ad needs to look more polished!”

I foolishly believe that someone whose last title had been Brand Manager would be super savvy about such things and can throw me a bone:

Me: “Okay, when you say “polished,” do you mean… um…. a serif typeface? A different sans serif? Script? Should I appeal to the likely audience for the musical act, or more to appeal to the wealthy local alumni of a certain vintage?”

VP: *Very confused look.* “Just make it look more polished.”

Me: “Okay, just remember that this is due by tomorrow, but I will be out of town, so I need to turn it in today.”

VP: “Okay.”

A couple of hours and several radically morphing versions of “polished” later, I get grudging approval on the design, which is still not “polished” enough, though she still cannot define what she means beyond that one word.

VP: “After these minor text corrections, it can go to the paper.”

An hour later…

Me: “Here are the text edits you asked for. I’m going to send it in like you said.”

Secretary: “Oh, she left for the airport half an hour ago and apparently she turned off her cell phone. I can’t hold of her either.”

Me: “Oh, okay. She never told me she was only working half a day.”

I send in the ad and it runs in the Sunday paper. On Monday we both get back from our time away.

VP: “You circumvented my authority! Don’t ever do that again! I am going to put a note in your file!”

Me: “Wow… nothing like that has never happened in the fifteen years I have worked here. I couldn’t get hold of you and the deadline was looming. I wasn’t trying to undermine you, and you did tell me to send it in after those text edits. I really was operating in good faith, sorry.”

VP: “Oh… I … ah… sorry…” *Turns to leave the room.* “Oh by the way… I really like your blouse!”

She later sent me a very formal and stilted email summarizing the “incident,” stating that it wasn’t going to be a written warning… just verbal. Pretty sure she totally BCC’ed her boss. In writing.