People leave managers, not companies.
Your manager can literally make or break your experience at a company and, even in extreme circumstances, your career in the future.
Before you shoot that CV out and start looking for a fresh start somewhere new, it is important to consider; are they really a bad manager?
Is there anything you could do to improve your situation?
Or are you really to blame? (For example, are you argumentative, lazy or constantly late?)
Here are some of the clearest signs that you have a bad manager – and that it’s probably time to leave.
1. They Have Favourites (Even If You’re One Of Them)
A team is successful when they work together and use their own individual strengths to positively impact the whole project they are working on.
Bad managers fail to recognise that – and therefore pick favourites. (You must have seen this happen before).
Perhaps they give the nicer or more prestigious roles or tasks to one person.
Or maybe they let them get away with murder.
Whatever it is, it’s not acceptable.
On the other hand, bad managers can sometimes pick people they don’t like.
This is when bully tactics can come into play.
Even if you’re the favourite right now, this kind of management leads to a toxic environment which is bound to come to a head at some point in the not-so-distant future, so my advice would be to consider moving on.
2. They Don’t Actually Give You Criticism
It’s a manager’s job to give you good and bad feedback.
So, if you have a manager who struggles to give you criticism, then it’s not really a great sign.
Perhaps in the short term the fact that all of your work is getting pushed through and you never hear anything negative is great… but in the long term it will hurt you.
If you’re not hitting your targets, getting results or things aren’t quite going to plan with your projects, it’ll come back to bite you on the bum first.
And senior staff members are not going to be impressed!
You want a boss who can help you to improve and flourish – by giving you constructive feedback.
3. They Don’t Recognise Your Skills
You want a manager who’ll make the most out of your skills and strengths and use them to improve the business.
You don’t want a manager who leaves you doing mundane and/or ridiculously difficult tasks you can’t possibly complete.
You’ll never get better that way!
A good manager will steer you towards tasks that will improve your skillset but that they know you’ll be able to do well; things that will improve you and the business, at the same time.
4. They Don’t Realise How Hard You Work
Unrecognised or unappreciated hard work hurts more than anything else in a job.
And it happens all the time.
You might be putting in long extra hours but your manager might not notice.
Or perhaps, they work even harder and therefore don’t appreciate the extra time you put in.
That’s not right.
What your manager doesn’t realise is that eventually, you’re bound to give up that extra effort, because what’s the point, right?
Or worst case scenario, you may even burnout…
Summary
The sad truth is; there are plenty of bad managers out there.
And sometimes it’s their fault, sometimes it’s not.
But if you feel that they are stifling your creativity and career, treating you inappropriately or unfairly or even just making you work too hard with no appreciation, it might be time to look for a new job.
Check out our job opportunities if you are on the lookout.
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