Dear Anyone,
I work in a small office of 7 people: 4 executives and 3 support staff. I'm one of the support staff and new to the company having started 4 months ago. Usually I work mostly with my boss ("G") as his assistant. Recently he went away on 2 weeks vacation and I had to work with his substitute ("D"). G is very collegial, he shares information with me and asks my opinion. He takes the time to explain the big picture, or why we're doing something before we do it. I value this because I value team work. D likes to do keep all information to herself. In the two weeks G was away, she told me what to do and how to do it, but only if I asked how I could help, she never volunteered anything. Consequently I couldn't answer questions from the media or others in the company about the situations we were in, although I have done so in the past working with G. She's very serious and ambitious, and even so, seems well liked and respected by the other workers. D and I are the same age (late 30s).
I don't get it. I think her behaviour is childish and produces barriers to working as a team. I'm wondering if she sees me as a threat, but I don't know how. I much prefer working with G. He acknowledges her behaviour as her "leadership style". My dilemma: do I let her know I work best with a collegial boss or do I keep quiet? It's highly likely she will substitute for him again and again.
navigating through office politics