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How open does he see to feedback and managing up?
It's not easy. Early in my career I reported to an SVP and it was a disaster. Great guy, but the gap between us was too great and I needed more direction than he had time to give.
It's probably the same here. He likely doesn't have time. If he's like me, he's in zoom meetings 6+ hours a day. Finding time to lean in can be very difficult.
For me, I have check ins with everyone on my team to inquire about workload. If someone has too much, that's my fault, not theirs (usually), and if someone gets burnt out and either becomes ineffictive or quits, that's bad for me. I press heavily, because I know the managers are unlikely to feel comfortable telling their SVP they're overworked, as it sounds like they are overwhelmed and can't handle it. But I need to know if they're getting burnt out. I can't see if they're working till 9 every night. I greatly appreciate when they're honest.
It's hard to know how your boss is. We all know some bosses think it's your fault, not theirs. Especially now, when "you should just be happy you have a job, and we're all working harder to get through this."
I'd start cautious. Factually explain where you are doing the work of multiple people, and ask if there is anyone else with capacity to lean in. Maybe there is. Maybe there isn't. But it will help you see how he thinks about your time and workload.
Agree with the points above on the check-ins, being more vocal, etc. I would add:
1) come with a plan/perspective to what’s needed next to demonstrate where you might be ready for some autonomy as you build trust.
2) I’ve counseled members of my team that it’s easier to catch me first thing in the morning for those checkins to set expectations of the day and what their needs are to ensure they’re not on hold because of me getting pulled into something unanticipated during the day. Timelines should account for that whenever possible but be very upfront about when things need to happen fast. I don’t want my crazy day to result in you working really late because you’ve been waiting on to move something forward. It’s not fair to you and I remember being in that position myself early in my career.
My boss is an SVP, was a big seniority jump from the manager I had previously. At first it was intimidating, but we now have a great relationship after getting to know each other. There’s a certain level of trust that I think is earned over time and helps. I’d recommend honesty and getting to know them as a person.
Thanks for your perspective! I do hope that it does get easier the longer we work more directly together. But I’ve been on this team 2.5 years now and this has been his style and mindset since the get go which was a problem before with his direct reports/middle level. But with all the changes, perhaps he can change too.
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Just figure out what they want and do it. I teach my people to manage up, how to identify where to step in, what to flag, etc.
There are varying degrees here, and if I was less confident I'd want to minimize that happening, at least the perception of it.
But at the end of the day we just want subordinates that make our lives easier, so figure out what that looks like for them, and try to do it. You want their lives easier with you, than without you.
Thanks for input! The problem is that I knew my old (laid off) manager felt that way, along with other laid off team members. Last performance review was that I did just that, made their lives so much easier with my work. So now that I’m doing 3 people’s work, he’s not really seeing a difference from his POV as I’m the one who has taken those projects (and underlying tasks) up.
I'm an SVP with some very junior team members, and no one in between on some of my accounts. Because I'm on multiple teams, I just don't have a lot of time to manage to the level I'd like. I'm in meetings all day, many of which have clients. What's helped for us is to make sure there's at least a 15 minute meeting once a day, to connect with that junior team. Also, ask your manager to try and convince others to schedule shorter meetings. This helps free up some time so you can connect more organically throughout the day. Send your manager emails (or better yet, chats) and reminders of what you need, with specific deadlines and instructions with project history/background. Call out what's urgent and what isn't to help triage the requests. Sounds like babysitting, and in a way it is, but your manager will (hopefully) appreciate it and you will get what you need.
Oh, and to your point about informal check-ins -- I've found this pre-scheduked time works better. We don't have much down time at all, and when we do, it's for grabbing lunch, taking care of a kid, walking a dog, going to the bathroom, etc. So rather than sneaking time from those activities, we just make space daily. But everyone's schedules are different. If you have more downtime, informal could be just as effective.
There’s a really great course on LinkedIn Learning about bad bosses by Chris Croft. He gives tangible, helpful advice and, as a bonus, he’s really funny. Sorry you’re dealing with that. Bad bosses are THE WORST.
@OP My boss is the “takes credit for your work.” Wish people could just be decent. Godspeed!
He’s always had more of a ‘team lead’ role, ie more of a delegator than doer, and now projects that I’m now the “owner” of are getting held up because of blockers from him as he takes on more execution duties. How do handle this in a way that doesn’t come off as insubordinate?
And also how do I suggest him to handle or share more tasks as I’m now balancing more plates that I’ve ever thought possible at this level but he’s still stuck in delegator mode and just passes things through to me and one other team member.