I started a new job and we have a small IT department working for an insurance benefit. I was hired to help ensure the success of their conversion from a mainframe flat file system to a relational database with a client server setup. I want to get more involved in our decision making process.
My question is how do you get yourself included in those critical business design meetings without overstepping your bounds.
Practice your golf swing. Sad but true. It's all about developing relationships with the people who make those decisions now
Have you tried just asking if you can attend? Perhaps on the premise that it will help you do your job if you are in the room to hear the discussion?
You could suggest you tag along in the meetings to explain some of the more technical parts of the system. If you do it tactfully, he shouldn't mind.
Try to speak the same language as the management, so in your case present your solution with the benefits and the drawbacks of the other system, without getting too technical. But at the same time try to make a confident impression and be sure they know about your technical expertise.
Tricky. A couple of tactics I've used successfully in the past (though in a big company so might need some adjustment depending on how small your company is..)
Not sure what you mean by involved in the configuration; is this discussions you want to be involved in or do you mean design activities?
Get involved...
If you genuinely believe that the project is at risk then the responsible thing to do is alert your management. Don't get into the conversation about your project lead being no good, that's just your opinion, and is divisive. Prepare yourself with some factual evidence for your claim and put it in front of them.
If they are interested in your opinion they will ask you for it and you can get yourself into the management meetings. If they aren't then you are in a dead end on a failing project and you should start looking around for alternative employment - or suck it up.
What you should not do is just sit about moaning about it or spreading bad feeling about your project lead - however bad s/he is.
If you want to be taken seriously by management, you could do a lot worse than to act like management.
I think you will want to be careful coming into a new company. You may have the most experience in this area, but being new, you won't have critical knowledge about the company's culture. You mention that the current project lead has been in the company for a long time. Well, that person most likely has a good handle on how the company works. In a small company, it is important to understand this.
I know that you want very much to really shine in your new role, but make sure it isn't at the cost of another. I am not suggesting that you would undermine the project lead, but I would be careful about making suggestions that might make that person look bad. I would work with them and be diplomatic. Work to gently nudge the process in the right direction rather than attempting to ask for the reins. As a new employee, you want allies, but more than that, if you are really concerned with achieving the right solution, you need to be careful.
You may not need to be included in the "critical business design meetings". Why would you be there really unless to contradict a poor decision? And if this happens, you need to be extremely careful. A room full of people will be watching you and your project leader. When you are working with the project lead alone, you can carefully and tactfully discuss more appropriate approaches. This will help them to get better, let them know your level of expertise without being threatening and help to move the overall project forward in a positive way.
Over time, your skills will become depended on more and more. Work patiently and diplomatically toward a solution for everyone (you, the company AND the project lead). Be positive and helpful on as many levels as possible and I believe it will benefit your career and the overall solution in the best way.