I have worked for a company where I was assigned to a manager who was treated like this by his manager and by the CEO, and I could tell very early on that they wanted/expected me to be just like him in every way–including allowing them to punish me for competence.
It would be nice if supervisors, managers, directors and so on would read this article and use it to seriously make changes. But this is what goes on in workplaces, and I’m pretty sure that’s never going to change. My situation is more like the second setting described in the article, but I absolutely see the day I resign for good going exactly as described in the first situation impotenciastop.pt. It’s amazing how employers regularly punish the best employees and then act shocked when they leave.
Gems:
Because this individual is so valuable to the manager, the manager rewards the individual by giving him or her more work, which in essence precludes the employee from earning or seeking other opportunities for promotion. The manager “claims” that the individual has a bright future with the company, but that he or she just needs to be “a bit more patient.”
When the employee does offer his or her resignation, the manager is shocked and responds, “I had no idea you were this unhappy. Why didn’t you say something?” … The superior employee leaves because he or she no longer trusts the manager. The real victim is the company…
In its early stages, weak managers punish better performers, who already have a full plate of work to do, with additional work that weaker employees either cannot or will not do. The weak manager usually approaches the better employee with requests such as, “I know you’re busy, but can you take care of this. Blank just doesn’t know how to do it?” Or, “Can you handle this? We are pressed for time, and I know I can depend on you to get this done.”
The first step is prevention. Have a clear picture of the type of person you want to hire. This profile should include not only the skills and experience needed for the incumbent to succeed but a description of the type of person who will fit into the culture of your company.
Make sure that all of the members of your team know what they are supposed to do, how to do it…the “why” of what they do–i.e. how it fits in to your company’s operation–and how the performance of their duties impacts the jobs of their teammates.
Stop Punishing Your Best Performers! Build a Culture of Employee Development
