I have a boss who relies heavily on my assistance to do even the most important tasks he should be handling himself. The worst part is that he’s overly confident in himself when he’s in front of people, but often fails to give me credit for all the things that I’ve done for him. How do I manage the situation? — Ink Phantom.
This may not be to your liking. But be realistic. You don’t have much choice but to support your boss. There’s no other option, unless you resign or accept other assignments outside your department. But look at the positive side. You may not realize it, but your current situation should work in your favor.
For managers worth their salt, delegation is celebrated as the ultimate mark of good leadership. After all, a boss who tries to do everything ends up doing nothing well. But what happens when the pendulum swings too far — when your boss keeps passing everything to you like a hot potato in a never-ending team-building game?
Of course, the issue is when the boss is stingy in giving you proper credit. Whatever, if I were in your place, I would be more than happy to do the job for him. You may feel bitter about it now, probably because of the workload, stress and lack of credit.
However, if you play it right, it could help you fast-track your career development and your influence, not only with your boss, but with the whole organization.
It depends on the perspective. Some things could go wrong. Others might go surprisingly right. If you don’t have any choice, think of all the good things that are happening now instead of plotting your escape.
POSITIVE SIDEBeing overloaded by your boss can play in your favor. That is, if you know how to manage the workload and survive a stressful work environment. Let’s count the ways.
One, make the situation your rocket ship for skill growth. Few career development programs can match the “sink or swim” training you’re getting from an over-delegating boss. One week you’re crafting budgets, the next you’re managing client complaints or mediating conflict between workers.
Somewhere in between these difficult tasks, you’ve perfected troubleshooting the office printer. That’s where you’re experiencing an MBA without formal schooling.
Two, gain visibility in the process. Handling high-level tasks means people notice you. Suddenly, your name appears in meetings, reports and casual conversations. You become the go-to person for things that matter, not just “office supply inventory.”
If that’s not happening yet, volunteer for more assignments and aspire to be given challenging tasks. That way, you can easily prove your worth to top management.
Three, become a leader by default. Congratulations! If everyone’s looking to you for answers, then that’s a good sign that you’re being recognized with or without the presence of your boss. Don’t worry about the title and credit.
People would know it better than your boss. The team knows who gets things done, and it’s not the person with the corner office and the calendar with a quarterly foreign travel.
Four, improve your chances of a promotion. Should your boss become ill, retire, burn out, or decide to pursue their lifelong dream of opening a beach bar in Boracay, you’re the natural candidate to replace them.
After all, you’ve been performing half their job already. Your instant promotion could happen anytime, with or without a succession plan.
Five, leverage your situation. Once you realize how much you’ve absorbed, you can use it as bargaining power. At performance review time, you can always say: “I’d love to keep our professional relationship fruitful. Let me know how we could strengthen it further by adjusting my portfolio of compensation, if warranted.”
Six, enrich your resume with concrete examples. Future employers will troop to your doorsteps the moment they see your experience, complete with dollar signs in cost savings. “You handled operations, finance, HR and crisis management under one boss? That’s amazing. When can you start?” To prospective employers, you’ll look like the Swiss Army knife every organization wants to hire.
THE BALANCING ACTHere’s the bottom line: when bosses over-delegate, they put themselves at risk of irrelevance and their workers at risk of burnout depending on their perspectives. But for you, the same situation can serve as a hidden fast-track plan — if you play it smart.
The trick is to balance two things: survival and strategy. Take the opportunity to learn, showcase your skills and build influence, but also guard your boundaries so you don’t flame out before you cash in on the benefits.
After all, being the unofficial boss has its perks — as long as you have the authority, which you have to secure in writing (via e-mail) from your boss.
One caveat, though. Too much delegation can feel like being trapped in an overworked internship program that never ends. But if you take it in a positive light, it might just be the best leadership boot camp you never asked for.
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