Is Your Boss Impeding Your Career? Impeding employees’ careers is not what good bosses do. They give you opportunities to prepare you for the next big step. They coach and encourage. However, good bosses are like good people; they are not found everywhere. How do you know if your boss is being a jerk in this instance? Your boss ISN’T necessarily trying to impede your career if he: Is very demanding Often forgets to say thank you Won...
The Dangers of Being Too Capable at Your Job Some people have the charming but erroneous belief that all they need to do to get ahead is be really capable at their jobs. I have discussed this in other posts, but I want to focus on a particular subset—when it can actually be bad for your career to be good. When being really capable is bad A couple of things have to kick in for this to happen but they are not that uncommon. Your boss se...
Getting Your Ideas Heard We’ve been discussing dealing with the theft of your idea by a co-worker. The discouraging truth seems to be that it’s very hard to win this battle. So, instead you need to win the war and get your ideas heard. Become the go-to idea guy A much more positive way to approach this is to become the go-to idea guy. That is, the person the boss expects to come up with original ideas. First, of course, you have to ...
Protecting Yourself against Idea Thieves You assumed, incorrectly in this case, that Emmett was a good colleague who would help you hone and develop your idea. Frankly, I think that’s a good assumption to make generally (more of this later), but equally, you need to be aware if you are working with idea thieves. What can you do to protect yourself against idea thieves? You have already twigged to one strategy—don’t discuss ideas w...
Doing Nothing when Someone Rips Offs Your Idea Emmett, a co-worker, rips off your idea. He denies it and your mutual boss, Len, doesn’t believe you when you complain. What’s left? Does that mean you should let Emmett get away scott-free? No way. Yes, possibly. You may need to do nothing. The advantages of doing nothing I know, the idea sticks in your craw. But consider the following: It’s your word against Emmett’s. Emmett has m...