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Lee E. Meadows, PhD.
Professor of Management –
Authored: Silent Conspiracy &
Silent Suspicion
Insecure managers can harm workers’ careers
There have been an assortment of studies and observations
that support the notion that organizations are particularly susceptible to
competitive vulnerability in those areas of management where functional and
divisional bench strength is lacking. Though external factors such as
globalization, a weak economy and cautious consumer spending can wreak havoc on
a business’s ability to consistently meet quarterly targets, the road back to
competitive fortitude is further compounded by the internal reluctance of
managers to focus on developing those managers-in-waiting to assume key
managerial roles.
I was recently taken back by a comment made a manager in a
manufacturing facility who openly admitted that he had no intention of
furthering the development of any of his key reports because one of them could,
conceivably, take over his job. “Let them get it the same way I did,” he said.
At first I thought about the fact that he’d made a conscious decision to
suppress the growth of the business to insure his Darwinistic survival.
However, further thought brought reflection on the number of conversations I’ve
had over the years with people that were victimized by the overt or subtle
tactics of misguided managers intentionally engaged in an effort to take the
wind out of the sails of a fully charged and talented employee waiting for a
chance to show what they can do.
There was the Senior Consultant in a major consulting firm
who asked a Managing Director what was it like to be in that role and was told
“You don’t want this job.” Or the Supervisor of Nursing for a mid-sized
hospital who asked the Director of Nursing (who’d completed her Masters in
Nursing at Wayne State) should she consider getting her Masters to further
develop her career and was told “Getting a Masters is too hard, just keep doing
what you’re doing.”
I was particularly intrigued by the Administrative Assistant
at a local foundation who admitted to her law degreed Executive Director that
she wanted to go to law school and work in the legal profession. The Executive
Director, subsequently, made her life such a living hell at the job that she
resigned a month later.
As much as I’d like to think of these as merely isolated
incidents, similar experiences among colleagues, students, consultants and
others have led me to conclude that the issue is large enough to warrant
attention. Careers are helped or hindered by the day-to-day influences of
managers and the beliefs they have about the unique nature of their role inside
the organization. In order to avoid ‘career suppressing’ behavior, be mindful
of the man made obstacles being thrown on your path.
An expressed opinion about what you can or can’t do is
merely an opinion and nothing more. No one person is capable of ever truly
knowing what you’re capable of accomplishing. Seek opinions from other
respected sources, especially those less inclined to see you as a threat to what
they’re trying to accomplish.
A deterring comment or opinion should always be followed by
the “Why do you believe that about me” question. If the person is so convinced
that an achievement they’re realized is beyond your reach, rather than accept
that as gospel, you’d better find out what they’re seeing because it may have
implications for possible advancement opportunities in the organization.
Managers can become very comfortable with casting you in a
long-term, restricted role in the organization. This is particularly insidious
when the person in that restricted role has made life very comfortable for that
manager. The reluctance to give up a well-trained support person is known to
cloud individual judgment and can be a frequent cause of conflict between a
manager and a direct report. Keeping your boss happy can make for a peaceful
existence, though it doesn’t always boost your career.
The spirit of competition is a traditional value embedded in
our culture and part of a process for determining individual success. However,
it assumes that there is equal knowledge of a competition. You may be
experiencing career suppression because you didn’t know that your boss or
colleague perceived you as a competitor and began taking steps to minimize your
effectiveness. Pay attention to what is said and done around you. What
information is being left out of your career discussions?
When it’s obvious that your manager or colleague is
interested more in keeping you back as opposed to moving you forward, given the
nature of the current economy, I am reluctant to say find another job, but you
can change the relationship. From that point forward, never discuss your career
interests with that person. Seek out the advice and counsel from trusted
sources in other parts of the organization. You should never try to undermine
your manager’s authority because that’s political suicide, but you can build a
network of sources that can indirectly support your efforts.
Remember, you don’t really need anyone’s opinion or blessing
to improve on your current performance model. When an organization makes
tuition reimbursement available to all of its employees, it does so without the
permission or input from its current management staff. The company already
knows it’s the right thing to do so any contrary opinions are just added noise.
Minimize the noise surrounding your career by realizing that improving your
career opportunities is the right thing to do.
Individual capability has a way of shining in spite of
narrowly held views. I frequently tell the story of the nineteenth century memo
sent by the United States Patent Office suggesting to the president that the
office should be closed because “all that can be invented has been invented.”
Just so you know, that Senior Consultant went on to become a partner in another
major consulting firm, the Supervisor of Nursing completed a Masters in
Community Health Nursing and a Doctorate in Sociology from