When Your Boss Won’t Let You Do Your Job.
You did it, you landed your dream job! Anxious and excited you arrive ready to hit the ground running, but wait, what happened? The ideas that you pitched in the interview, the ones you were told landed you the position, you are not being allowed to implement. Why?
It could be that your predecessor was struggling and this recent experience may have impacted your manager’s current level of trust and autonomy for you in your new role. Chances are, most people have experienced an employee that has had an impact on the amount of trust or freedom that other employees coming into the same position may receive. Generally, this is not something that is done on a conscious level. How do you overcome this obstacle? Unfortunately, the fix is often not a quick one. You must prove yourself to be the valuable team player that won you the position. One of my very close mentors talks about the “value exchange.” Show the value that you bring. Many people talk about the value that they can bring, while that may get you in the door, what will earn you the freedom to do the job that you want to do is the follow through. This will take some time; it takes time to build trust and prove that you are the right person for the job. While you are creating a value exchange for your manager, know that staff also witnesses this. The result is that you are building credibility with peers, other manager’s, vendors, and everyone that witnesses the value exchange.
If even after doing this you are still experiencing road blocks I would suggest having a conversation about the position, the duties and responsibilities with your manager. Come prepared, bring the job description and outline specific instances where you have encountered road blocks. In some instances, manager’s do not realize they are creating road blocks. Placing roadblocks to success for employees and the organization is the last thing that they want to do.
If after an earnest effort (you will need to define the effort and timeline), these issues have not been resolved, it may be time to move onto an organization where you can flourish.