What do you do when you’re smarter than your boss?
In an ideal world everyone would have the benefit of a ‘good boss’ who’s firm but fair, gives enough freedom let you get on with the job – and is close enough to provide guidance when it’s needed. In order to provide guidance, a good boss has to understand the context and see a slightly bigger picture than you do. But I often encounter ‘upside-downitis’, where the person I’m coaching feels frustrated and poorly led because they are smarter than their boss.
Here’s how to spot upside-downitis:
- Your boss’s eyes glaze over, or else they get mad, when you’re explaining an idea.
- You realise in meetings that your boss doesn’t quite ‘get it’ as fast as you do.
- Your boss is more concerned about following corporate process than getting to a real outcome.
- Conversations with your boss often feel that they are working at two different levels that don’t connect up
- Your boss is nervous around you – as one of my clients described it “it’s like he’s got a really powerful horse that he doesn’t know how to ride”.
- You frequently feel frustrated by their lack of ambition, pedestrian thinking, or lack of nous.
So, what can you do about it?
1. Decide whether you really want
to stay in the job. It may be best to get out.
2. Work with what you’ve got and
be realistic, rather than impatient.
3. Don’t blame your boss – we inherit
our intelligence.
4. Try to get alongside them and work
with them for the good of the organisation. This may mean you guide them rather than the other way around
5. Find a mentor somewhere else in
the organisation, or an external coach, who can give you the bigger context you need.
