A Bad Boss as Potential Derailer

Phil had “star” written all over him from the time he graduated with honors from a top MBA program. Handsome, smart, charismatic, and the son of a business school professor to boot, Phil joined a major packaged-goods firm after graduating and quickly was given increasing amounts of responsibility and a series of promotions. Not only did he meet or exceed expectations in his first three positions but he was fortunate to have the types of bosses who came from backgrounds similar to his and with whom he quickly established good relationships.

Then Phil was transferred to a new group, and this time his boss was Tony, a tough guy who had never received an advanced degree. Tony had achieved his position in the company through hard work and hard-won expertise; he was street smart and knew how to deal with organizational politics. From the moment Tony set eyes on Phil, he seemed to have it in for him, or at least that was Phil’s perception. He threw verbal jabs at Phil whenever he cited a famous business guru or theory as justification for an action. Tony told Phil that he’d reached a rung on the ladder where his education and charm didn’t mean anything. Even worse, he consistently rejected Phil’s ideas and kept him off teams “where the real action was.” He told Phil he had a lot to learn before he could play with the tough competition.

Phil was furious and immediately convinced himself that Tony had it in for him because he was jealous of Phil’s privileged background. When Tony would tell him what he had done wrong—and he’d usually tell him bluntly and coarsely—Phil tuned out. He was certain that Tony had nothing of value to pass on and that sooner or later he’d find another position far away from Tony.

Phil was right, at least in the sense that he would be able to find another job. He took an offer from one of his company’s competitors, but he quickly ran into problems with a boss who was a woman. Phil told friends that her unwillingness to give him a promotion he deserved was based on her hatred of all men. After a few months, he went over his new boss’s head and was able to finagle a transfer to another unit. Though he got along all right with his new boss, his performance was mediocre, and he seemed unable to recapture his old star quality.

Phil’s problem was that he was oblivious to the passage of “dealing with a bad boss.” Whether Tony actually was a bad boss is beside the point. Phil simply didn’t use his problems with Tony for reflection and conversation and for being open about his own weaknesses. If he had, he might have realized that he had a problem dealing with people from different backgrounds, that he was overly reliant on his charm and education, and that he didn’t put in the time and effort necessary to do certain assignments well. If he had become more conscious of his shortcomings, he might have been better prepared to deal with them when they surfaced in the future.