Four Situations When It Might Be Time To Quit Your New Boss

Recently on the blog, we gave you a list of 10 Tips To Help You Adapt To Your New Boss. We talked how to deal with the dynamics of your new boss, have the difficult conversations in an appropriate manner, and improve your overall relationship with them.

All that being said, those are all suggestions for really trying to make it work. Clearly, there are some situations when maybe making it work really isn’t the best option.

Here are four situations when you should be looking at your options very closely.

#1 If it is a competitive issue

If you outshine them and they don’t like it, that’s a problem. If they aren’t able to make that work for themselves, there might not be a good chance to work that out.

Leaving quickly or swiftly is probably in your best interest here. We hate to say that it isn’t worth trying, because we usually think it is, but honestly winning competitively and having someone feel okay about it is close to impossible.

Leave immediately. Move on. You won’t win at this rodeo.

#2 If your performance (or your team’s performance) is subpar

…then you need to up the game and get a plan in gear, or move aside.

If your performance is more in the subpar arena (whether you agree with that or not), or your team’s outcomes aren’t what they’re expected to be (regardless of what the dynamics are there), really be reflective of it: are you able to dig out of that hole or not?

If you’re not able to dig out of it, you’re causing more of a problem for the organization then you are hope. This where the reputation goes down the tubes in this scenario, and doing nothing about it can be more harmful than you realize.

If you find yourself in this sticky situation, we recommend that you take what you’ve got and move forward with it so that you can move on in a really positive way and the organization can find some additional option that might be better for them. So get a plan in gear and move aside if you need to!

Having a plan is critically important, and the more you can showcase your plans and intentions, it can be really helpful in getting new leaders and other leaders on board with what you’re doing.

Asking for their time to get there is another critical component. If you come out with a plan and a strategy (and you work through it with them), you will be setting the expectations appropriately as to the milestones for getting out of that scenario.

#3 If there isn’t a shared vision

Every leader has their unique vision of what the future looks like for the organization, and you need to make sure that your new boss’ intentions have you and your team’s best interest in mind.

They might not be very upfront with it because they might be cagey about it, but you might want to sniff that one out.

If there is some clarity anywhere around you or your group not really fitting in with the future, you might want to work through that and work your way out on your terms in a way that works best for you.

#4 If your values and goals are not aligned

If you’re not in alignment with your new boss, you’re going to have to make a call on that at some point in time. It stinks, it’s not great, and it really sucks when you’ve worked so hard to get where you are. But if it’s not a fit, it’s not likely to be the boss that ends up moving on. It’s on you to figure out what’s next.

Where we’ve noticed that this goes really south is when it has a negative impact on how you manage your team, serve your clients, or to do work you feel good about. Again, this is where it rubs up against your reputation. You won’t look good and you won’t feel good, and who wants to work in that kind of scenario?

In the end…

Reputation management is key here. You’ve spent a lot of time building and maintaining a solid track record and a strong reputation. It’s critical that you keep that intact because it’s one of the worst things to lose when you’re going through this.

The longer you stay in a no-win situation, the less chance you have at coming out with your reputation intact. Just take a serious look at how you want to come out of it on the other side of this and manage to that. Here are four major ways to do keep your reputation intact while you are planning your exit:

Thinking about leaving your job can really play with your heart strings, especially if you’ve been there for a long time. Moreover, basing that decision solely on the fact that you couldn’t work it out with your new boss can evoke emotions of bitterness and resentment.

We get it. It sucks all around. But we’re telling you, friend, it’s for the better.

And remember: choosing to leave can be scary, but choosing to stay can be dangerous.

You can get through it. We believe in you!

Good luck to ya, and as usual – contact us if we can be helpful.