3. The Manager Who Doesn’t Just Disagree With Your Ideas, They Take it Out on You
You pitch an idea or share your perspective with your boss and she disagrees. After that, you’re not included in meetings. When you do get a seat at the table, you’re ignored.
It’s a real possibility your boss is, indeed, retaliating against you. It’s also possible that it’s just your imagination. Sadly, many times it’s the former scenario.
How to Deal
Although this kind of behavior is illegal, bad bosses know how to subtly intimidate with the end goal of making you so uncomfortable that you’ll resign.
And maybe you should. It’s one way of dealing with the unfortunate situation.
Another way is to schedule a meeting with your manager and share your view of what you think is happening and ask for her perspective. Back at your desk, type out a short email referencing the meeting, what was discussed, and letting her know that you understand the priorities she set forth (list them) and that you’re really glad the air has been cleared.
Of course, there’s no guarantee she’ll stop, but it does give you a record of sorts and puts her on alert—so that if or when it happens again, you can confidently reach out to HR for guidance.
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