Advice on how to handle an unprofessional account manager? She gossips, sends work that hasn’t been reviewed and doesn’t really understand the work we do enough to protect it from bad client feedback. I tried going to her manager but her manager got annoyed with having to field my concerns.

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How is the culture at your agency overall? It sounds kind of toxic but if most people are good, I would confide in someone senior you trust and ask for their advice. Back it up with specific examples and don’t get emotional.

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Hmm that is tough. If there is someone you do trust who is senior to you, I would position it purely as you want advice. How would you handle this if you were me, how can I best advocate for myself, etc. That way you aren’t putting the issue on them entirely and showing that you plan to be a grownup.

If that’s too much for them then it is on them, IMO. I am a team leader and have asked more senior people for advice many times. No one has ever reacted badly and I would never judge someone for asking for help.

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I find that most people want to be great at their job. Most people wake up every morning with a goal to have a good day, connect with someone or make someone else’s day better.

However, in our industry, there’s a large gap in mentorship and compassionate leadership.

It could be that they have a lot of pressure to deliver work on time from someone higher up. It could be that they are confused as to what their true role is in this seemingly chaotic industry.

Maybe approach it with the assumption that they (a) want to get better at their job and (b) just don’t realize that they’re making mistakes or what the long term implications are.
Approach it from the perspective of “how can I help them learn how to be the kind of account manager I’d want to follow?”

I’m not saying you go up and ask them if you could be their mentor. Just acknowledge that their job has some unique challenges and ask how you can help.
Do that enough and you’ll find them coming to you for more advice.
From there, the hardest part of giving advice is not giving it. Rather ask more questions. Better questions often lead to better answers.

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If you've raised your concerns and management is not taking action, it might be best to let nature take its course.... don't stress about it. Eventually something that their doing will surface and have a negative impact on them or their manager. That'll probably be the time they'll have a corrective action plan for the account manager. Don't stress and Goodluck!

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If it's a really toxic atmosphere all around, there's probably not a lot you can do about it. I don't know whether she's protected or people just don't want to get involved. But perhaps you'll just have to find a way to navigate around her, or manage her ineptitude as best you can. Sometimes we get stuck working with people whose presence in their position is a complete mystery.

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Let her fail. She'll be gone soon enough

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Have you tried talking to her and telling her the things she is doing that aren't professional? I am sure that you probably have which is why you went to her manager. I would probably try to go to the manager once more before escalating the issue even further.

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