Knowing if your boss feels
threatened by you at work can be the difference between
feeling incompetent and having your confidence shattered
and realizing you actually have a lot of potential.
The first sign that your boss is threatened by you is
that they expect you to contribute without credit.
And this is something I know that most of you have
been through based on our conversations in the comments
on my videos about bad bosses and toxic bosses.
You're putting in all the work on that big project or the big presentation.
You're not just carrying your work,
you're carrying the whole dang thang.
And the results you deliver...
phenomenal.
You didn't do it for the glory.
You did it because you like being good at your job.
It's what you do.
While you don't expect to be bestowed with
honors and medals for simply doing your job
when you really knock it out of the park like that.
A good old pat on the back certainly wouldn't hurt.
But you don't get that and I am coming back for that in a minute.
Because first you experience
The invasion of the credit snatcher!
With the credit snatcher being your boss in this scenario.
While they did little else other than
obstructing you from doing your job
which will also come back for
when the glory is being given they step
into the limelight and take credit for your work
leaving you cold and annoyed in the shadows.
I know this is frustrating, a half when this happens.
The first thing you need to remember is that people
don't take credit for your work when it sucks.
And in some cases...
the credit snatching doesn't actually harm your career.
In fact, I've seen scenarios where it's helped
when you're the enabler of success for your
career climbing empire building boss, they need to
bring you up with them.
They know they can't cut off their supply.
But you're probably not here watching this video because
that's what's happening to you,
and their credit taking is not a big deal.
Because while they're taking credit for your work,
they're also undermining your achievements
like praise for that crushing that really big project
that we were just talking about.
Because let's face it, you're really awesome at your job.
When they can't take credit because it was
really obvious that it was you who was doing the work
and it was you who is making that dramatic impact.
Your insecure boss will do their best to undermine your work.
This can show up in several different ways.
They might underplay your impact,
like when the presentation that you prepared
sealed the deal on your company winning their biggest contract ever.
Your bad boss will attribute it to
something else and say something along the lines of:
"Oh, it was already in the bag. Your presentation was just a technicality."
When you excel on a project over delivering on time,
budget and deliverables, you're a jealous boss is gonna write it off.
"That was just a fluke."
But most importantly, and most pervasively,
they will never admit that you are great at what you do.
Whether it's in a private one on one meeting,
your annual performance review or
in front of your entire team,
they will never acknowledge your impact,
praise your accomplishments or admit that
you're the top performer on your team. In fact,
they'll do the exact opposite because your bad boss
only offers on a fair criticism.
Someone never watched Bambi as child
or maybe they were taking a nap during that whole
'if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all' part.
I'm actually here for constructive criticism,
actively seeking out and taking action on
constructive feedback is a career success accelerator.
That's why I spent my corporate days like
"just tell me what's wrong with me."
I know a lot of you are like this as well.
The problem is, is that when you're insecure a boss is
triggered by your performance and your potential
they're going to do what insecure people do...
find a way to destroy you.
Okay, I know that's a lot of hyperbole, but it's also true.
And what happens here is actually a few different dynamics
coming into play. First crab mentality,
which is much less adorable than it sounds.
Just like the crab who is being boiled and tries to
escape the pot, only to be dragged back into the boiling water
by its little crab friends... all to end up as dinner,
toxic bosses and insecure bosses are subconsciously
of the opinion that if they can't have it,
no one can we can.
Also have personality disorders coming into play here.
For example, if you're dealing with a narcissist,
your perceived potential is seen as a direct threat to theirs
and narcissist ain't having none of that.
There's also just an element of plain old power dynamics here.
They feel like they will lose power if you gain power,
because they're living in scarcity mindset.
Frankly, I can psychoanalyze these bad managers all day long. I
t's kind of fun,
but what's going on in their heads is not nearly as important as
what's going on in your head.
They are annihilating your confidence at work.
There are two ways that humans cultivate confidence
internally and externally. And in my experience,
most people skew to cultivating confidence externally.
That's why compliments feel so good.
Thanks for saying I'm the smartest person you've ever met.
These compliments deliver a nice little dopamine hits
that make us feel good. However,
when you are externally building confidence,
you're not only going to hear the positive compliments
that you're given. In fact, we have something called
negativity bias that we're dealing with.
That's why every time that you're nitpicked,
every time that you have an idea shut down,
every achievement that your bad boss ignores or undermines
has a negative impact on your confidence at work.
Which is why if you're in this situation,
or any other bad or toxic work situation,
creating confidence internally is crucial.
Internal confidence is going to make you more
resilient in situations like this. And it's just much steadier.
In general. I think this is so important.
I'm actually going to host a career confidence acceleration series
right here on my channel next week.
So make sure to subscribe and turn on the notification bell
so that you can come hang with me live.
Or check the secret the link in my description for the
pre-launch of my career changing new program,
whichever works for you.
Typically, when you're a top performer,
your bad boss can't just rely on taking credit for your work
or undermining you and destroying your confidence at work.
They know exactly how much potential you have,
and that it's only a matter of time before someone notices it.
And that's why they're going to
stop assigning you to high visibility work.
That project that you aced, and they took credit for...
After that you probably noticed your boss assigning you
to less and less big projects.
No one will notice your potential if
you're absolutely forbidden to use it, right?
So your insecure boss starts assigning that high visibility,
high potential work to your colleagues who aren't ready for it
or maybe aren't capable of doing it.
This customer is going to be managed by... Chad.
It doesn't matter if that work was perfectly aligned to y
our experience and your expertise. Or heck,
even if someone else in the organization or the
customer requested that you be assigned,
they will not let you in near it.
Except of course when said colleague needs your help.
Then is expected that you drop what you're doing and
go out of your way to help them because
"This is important."
"We're a team,"
"You do what I tell you to do!"
Of course, Chad isn't going to be thankful for you
helping him succeed, which is an entirely separate rant.
And if you ever discussed the inappropriate work assignments
being made with your bad boss,
because that's clearly what's happening.
They'll have a million excuses.
"It was Chad's turn."
"I didn't feel you were the right fit for this one."
Or worst of all...
"You already had too much on your plate..."
Which you probably do, because your boss who is
threatened by you is bearing you in busywork.
All of a sudden you become the go to note taker in meetings.
The compiler of boring reports and spreadsheets
and planning your next team happy hour
have become your highest priorities.
I could also rant a while about how bias comes into play
with his office housework, but we'll save that for another time.
The point is your to do list is completely overwhelmed by work
that isn't related to your actual job,
isn't developing skills that advance your career
and will keep you overworked and invisible.
And you can't complain they don't give you work.
Because they're giving you a ton,
yet should you complain about the lack of opportunities
this busy work is going to give you your insecure boss
will gaslight the eff out of you with adages like
working hard, being a team player, and paying your dues.
When you have too much busy work.
You can't even proactively find high impact work to do
you know work that can help you escape this awful situation.
Unless you become really effective at saying no
which you also should know I think is a crucial career success skill.
But you being so busy under all of this work that
really doesn't matter is giving your bad boss the
excuse that they need to leave you off of projects and
keep you out of meetings that would elevate your visibility at work.
Because when your boss feels threatened by you at work,
it is absolutely imperative to them that they
gatekeep you from senior leadership.
Do you have a relationship with their boss or their boss's boss's boss?
That's going to be a problem.
If you have a meeting or a casual conversation in an elevator
that you both happen to be in, you will
suffer the wrath from your insecure manager
who will blame and shame you for it.
"How dare you go over my head and undermine me like that!?"
Bro, you've looked in the mirror lately??
However, I digress.
If you have established relationships with leadership
that is senior to them, they will do their best to sabotage
those relationships. And if you don't have established
relationships with senior leaders,
they will do everything they can to prevent you from
having access to any of them. After all,
if you have direct contact with their boss or their boss's boss,
it's going to be hard for them to take credit for your work
because they'll know what you're working on.
It will be difficult for your insecure manager to undermine your work
because their boss will have both sides
of the story and it will be impossible for your
bad manager to hide your potential.
Because anyone in your vicinity is going to see it.
That's why they're so threatened by you after all,
of course, limiting your access to senior decision makers
who could create opportunities for you and
override your bad bosses decisions brings us to
the last red flag that your boss is threatened by you.
They will never promote you.
They will disregard the fact that they are the ones
choosing to underutilize you, sabotaging your work,
and often getting in the way of you doing a great job.
And the fact that they're taking credit for your work,
maybe even getting their own promotions because of it
because they're terrified that if you get promoted
you will rise above them.
Which is so messed up.
However having a boss that will not promote you i
s something that we need to get into more detail so that you
know how to overcome it and not end up underpaid,
undertitled, and underperforming because of a boss
sabotaging you go and watch this video right now
so that we can dig into the nitty gritty.