Dealing with Your Incompetent Boss - Parte IV

Case Study #2: Protect yourself

Stephanie Fadden* has been in the marketing and communications industry* for more than 16 years. A year ago she took a job at a Fortune 100 company. Michelle*, her new boss, had a similar background but had never managed others before. Early in their working relationship, Stephanie began to see that Michelle was not a clear communicator, could not articulate priorities, and struggled to make decisions. Stephanie was particularly frustrated when Michelle returned her work with line edits that had little to do with the content but were more about stylistic differences. She saw that this boss had little to teach her.

Fortunately for Stephanie, she had a direct route to Michelle's manager because he had recruited her into the organization. She explained to both the manager and Michelle that she didn't think this specific job was a good fit and proposed a move to a new position with a different boss. She framed this suggestion about her needs and refrained from complaining about how she was being managed.

The new position didn't come to fruition, but Stephanie resolved to not let Michelle get her down. Instead she developed coping tactics. "I ask her for exactly what I need. If she is unable to provide it, I provide her with a recommendation," she says.

She has also shifted her mindset. "I've stopped trying to change her," she says. She tries to look at her with compassion. "It's so obvious to me that she's not comfortable in those shoes. She may not know that she's incompetent but she must know that she's not hitting it out of the park. She's trying to do what she thinks a good manager is supposed to do." Stephanie has also made peace with her own situation. "I've accepted and embraced that it's my choice to stay here. Knowing that this is something in my control and I'm not a victim has helped me tremendously," she says. There are days that Stephanie wishes she could just leave but she reminds herself that she is choosing to stay. "If I focus on the things in my control, I have a more productive day."



Fonte: Blog da Harvard Business Review: http://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2011/06/dealing-with-your-incompetent.html