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Enemy at the Gates
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In a third case, a truly high-potential secretary worked for a boss
who was well connected politically, but completely incompetent. Realizing
the talent of his secretary, he promoted her into an assistant
position and began giving her increasingly larger projects to complete.
On the surface, this looked like good management practice.
The employee was highly motivated, worked toward an MBA at
night at a well-respected school, and completed each assignment perfectly.
Over time, it became clear to the assistant that her boss really
did not know what he was doing and was giving her work that he
should be doing. She persevered, however, thinking that her efforts
would eventually be recognized by either her boss or those around
her. But with the increase in responsibility came increased badgering,
abuse, and, ultimately, bullying. Wanting to do a good job, and still
learning to be more confident in her own abilities, the assistant took
the abuse, convincing herself that she had to pay her dues. Yet in
every case, her work was garnering praise for her boss. After five years
of abuse, she began sending her résumé to recruiters and discovered
the true value of her background, education, and experience. Wanting
to stay at the company, however, she went to human resources.
She learned that her boss had been complaining about her so much
and so often—blaming her for failures on projects to which she was
not even assigned—that she could never be considered for promotion.
In fact, she had come close to termination on more than one occasion.
Both she and the human resources staff member were
surprised that she had no knowledge of her “poor performance
record.” All she had ever heard was that there was more for her to
learn; all HR had ever heard was that she was an incompetent secretary.
Taking her aside, the HR member offered her a transfer to a
lower level in a different part of the company, but privately suggested
she move on to another company where her talents would be rewarded;
her boss was just too well connected.
Vigilance and skepticism on the part of individuals in authority
may be the only way to see through this type of scenario.