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Sooo as of January of this year, I have a new boss, this dude basically acted as my “mentor” for the last year so he’s already tried micromanaging me but bc he wasn’t my boss, I could push back.

Long story short, he is now my manager, he’s the global marketing leader and I’m the marketing director for the Americas (been doing this role for two years) yet he treats me like I’m an idiot, in his words he wants to make sure I’m in control of my team before he lets me lead fully while simultaneously telling me that I need to step up and lead.

I politely asked him to let me lead and stop attending all my team meetings, stop delegating tasks to my team directly and instead consult w me so then I can delegate, and basically to respect the fact that clearly I’ve been successfully doing the job for the last two years.

He said no, that he won’t leave my meetings until he feels I have full control of my team, continues to over involve himself in all my projects, pulling my team in a bunch of directions w new projects and ideas left and right, and burning us all out.

To add insult to injury, he sent me a very “helpful” email detailing how I need to work better and faster and how he expects me and my team at full speed, my team is made up of me, two new hires that are a month old, my marketing manager, and I’m currently hiring for another team member. (This after he led a company restructure of my previous team that resulted in me losing 4 team members in December so I’m rebuilding my team).

I’m already overwhelmed and demotivated, pretty sure he wants me to quit and he has a proven history of bullying his staff, he was actually fired from our parent company for this exact reason a few years ago, he also happens to be European so not sure how rules work over there, but he was rehired by my company. My European colleagues hate him too, but they’re too scared to speak up.

I used to love my job and now i dread it, I drink every day after work and I get anxiety everytime he emails me which is at all hours if the day. Is it worth it documenting his bullshit for HR or should I just cut my losses snd leave?

Appreciate the advice!

Comments
  • 2
    > "Is it worth it documenting his bullshit for HR or should I just cut my losses and leave?"

    Downside with individuals like that is no one above+beside his pay grade sees the toxic behavior (or simply ignores it). If you are experiencing it, others are too.

    Once you can answer the tough question "Is it me?", you can take the next step:

    - Don't let the wookie win. Let time be your advocate. Truly toxic individuals eventually get caught up with and usually kicked out the door.

    - Maybe it is you. Change is hard, but turn it around and attempt to look at this situation from his point of view.

    - Document *everything* and when the shit hits the fan (it always does), go to HR, quit and move on (your liver is already saying "thank you!"). HR depts are worthless when it comes to 'petty' disagreements, but patterns and documentation aren't usually ignored. Won't help you, but maybe you'll help the next unlucky individual
  • 0
    How frank have you been? This guy sounds super type A and if you have been dancing around being polite or not coming out and saying "back the fuck off" then maybe it's time to draw a line. Worst case is you continue to be bullied, and if he fires you then you're free.
  • 1
    asshole and high risk move, but:
    next time in your team meeting at an appropriate opportunity, ask him: "are you trying to get yourself fired for bullying staff again?"

    also, is he german by any chance? my experience with germans is that they treat all non-germans as untermensch.
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