Sometimes the problem's with your boss.
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| When you just can't work with your boss. |
You’ve just finished your quarterly check-in, and something’s off.
You’ve maintained a good rapport with your boss; you’ve met—nay,
exceeded—your KPIs; you’ve played well with others, even that guy from
Accounting you can’t stand… why do you still feel that your job is going
nowhere? It could be that you’ve come down with a terminal case of
lazy-manager-itis. But how could that be? Where were the signs? Maybe
we’ll never know. For next time, though, here are some red flags to
watch out for.
They’re not interested in new ideas
You saw that your company was throwing away time and resources, and
you made a solid business case for increasing efficiency that didn’t
cost your company. You went into the pitch meeting already
celebrating—your boss was going to be so proud! But… they turned it
down. Of course, you can’t always know what’s on your boss’s plate. But
when good ideas are thrown out for seemingly no good reason, it’s often
because they require buy-in above your manager’s pay grade.
Unfortunately, some managers aren’t willing to rock the boat, even for
good ideas, and you’re left in the lurch. How can you succeed when your
manager propagates a “stick-in-the-mud” culture?
Their feedback isn’t related to business goals
Everyone should have the right to a respectful and annoyance-free
workplace, and working in tandem with your manager along those lines is
important. At the end of the day, though, you’re both there to do
business. If the feedback you’re getting from your boss consistently has
more to do with accommodating their personal work style or compulsions
than meeting measurable business goals, they’re not properly
contextualizing your relationship. You’ll have a hard time getting
aligned on your career roadmap with a manager who can’t put work first.
They see you in the same role indefinitely
Culture Amp, a leading data-driven employee feedback platform,
reports that employee retention is driven by whether employees are engaged, see a future for themselves within a company, and have access to ongoing learning and development.
One way of assessing your manager’s commitment to your continued growth
is to ask, “What’s your dream version of my role?” If they answer that
they see you doing more of the same indefinitely, they’re not seeing the
big picture, and they’re probably not the best collaborator for
achieving your long-term goals.
Your first job is to advocate for yourself and your career—your second
is to find colleagues who support your goals. Organizations are messy
and often fraught with politics, and though your manager may not be able
to make everything happen for you, you deserve a relationship that’s
founded on mutual respect. If your manager won’t go to bat for you, it
might be time to make a change.
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