₦airaland Forum

He is your boss, he should take credit for your work. if you don't like it, find a job some were else, Any company would be Delighted to Employ you. unless you are Rubbish at work.

nams77:
Very apt. I made that mistake before coming across that book.
I was a new employee, bright and full of creative ideas. I was always making timely and great suggestions. Never knew my manager wasn't happy. He saw me as too forward. The first thing he did was to fling me to a far and irrelevant branch. Away from the hub of power. He publicly humiliated me, but back then, I used to be a fiery headed person. I got my pound of flesh later but it cost me my job.
From that irrelevant branch the chairman selected me to be the head of a committee that will x-ray and examine every activities of staff and also proffer recommendation. The chairman was looking for a no-nonsense person. Someone who cannot be intimated or cowed. At the end of the exercise, you can guess my recommendation. It was a scathing report against the management staff and the MD. He was immediately relieved of his position and transfer to an obscure subsidiary.and me? I was later axed by another over-zealous newbie lol

Lol, thanks for sharing a first-hand experience. I hope the OP learns a thing or two from this.

pocohantas:
Every company has an appraisal.
Be it formal or informal, verbal or documented, manual or automated... There is some sort of appraisal in every organization or gathering of people.

Which kin!

Some of those mushroom companies that are littered all over, you think they care about all of those?!

nams77:
Very apt. I made that mistake before coming across that book.
I was a new employee, bright and full of creative ideas. I was always making timely and great suggestions. Never knew my manager wasn't happy. He saw me as too forward. The first thing he did was to fling me to a far and irrelevant branch. Away from the hub of power. He publicly humiliated me, but back then, I used to be a fiery headed person. I got my pound of flesh later but it cost me my job.
From that irrelevant branch the chairman selected me to be the head of a committee that will x-ray and examine every activities of staff and also proffer recommendation. The chairman was looking for a no-nonsense person. Someone who cannot be intimated or cowed. At the end of the exercise, you can guess my recommendation. It was a scathing report against the management staff and the MD. He was immediately relieved of his position and transfer to an obscure subsidiary.and me? I was later axed by another over-zealous newbie lol

lolz..two can play the game...hope you have learnt your lesson...

KPOM!

The first law of being successful on the job is to make your boss happy. Once your boss thinks you're doing a great job, then you're doing a good job. Short and simple.


O pari

pocohantas:
Calm down and learn office politics.

If not, na D them go score you for appraisal.

sekzy99:
Its very easy. Have witnessed this. You learning office politics in a hard way.

1. You need to know and relate with other unit heads who you pitch your ideas to before telling your boss.

2. You man up and deliver messages to your CEO as long as you are fully prepared.

3. You walk up to him and ask him, be ready for negative feedback n treatment henceforth.

4. Make the while office know it's your work. There are mature ways to do this.

5. Ask for transfer to another unit that the head will acknowledge you well.

This recommendation up here will get u sack

Elder0001:
You lack wisdom

pocohantas:
You on your path, have never had wisdom.
Let alone lacking it.

The two lackers of Wisdom

basic23111:
there was a time my assistant reported issue direct my Gm and the Gm ask him if I'm aware before he sacked him. I always play a loyal politics

gbam..some people no dey just cool down..life na turn by turn

babadee1:
My brother I feel your pain. However, you need to understand that your boss is doing what bosses are supposed to do. They're there to take credit for the work of subordinates, that is how corporate structure works.

Everything you did under him as far as the company is concerned you did it through him, whether that is actually true or not is irrelevant.

It's obvious that you're ambitious and want to advance quickly. Luckily, you said you have a good relationship with your manager. My advice is that you leverage that relationship and exercise a great deal of patience as you wait for your turn.

Approach him for mentorship, play humble and tell him you would like to learn from him. When he feels more secure with you and convinced that you are on his side, he will gradually expose you to opportunities to work directly with upper management.

Take this advice sir

dapotemi:
This recommendation up here will get u sack

I agree

sekzy99:
Its very easy. Have witnessed this. You learning office politics in a hard way.

1. You need to know and relate with other unit heads who you pitch your ideas to before telling your boss.

2. You man up and deliver messages to your CEO as long as you are fully prepared.

3. You walk up to him and ask him, be ready for negative feedback n treatment henceforth.

4. Make the while office know it's your work. There are mature ways to do this.

5. Ask for transfer to another unit that the head will acknowledge you well.

very unwise..you think the boss is a fool?..

babyfaceafrica:
you lack sense

Thank you but I maintain my stand...if you really have the sense as claimed do a double check on my claim and you would verify my assertion, though not 100% but to large extent. We carried out a study 5years back on cultural influence on leadership disposition and style and this informed my statement.

Nothing personal or insulting in post as I never claimed any tribe was better. So tribal warlord take a chill

[quote author=MrOpp post=73383052]Hello my fellow NLers,

See. just create a thread on Nairaland or ask around how job is scarce this days and how difficult it is ito get a job.

After u have been well fed with information abt that, no one will teach u to be patient and continue doing good until u shine.

If u know the reality of unemployment in the country, I dont think u would want to do something that will jeopardize ur appointment there

the fear of losing ur job and consequentially losing ur source of income alone should make u wanna continue and be patient

normally, u cannot be in that position forever. u will be promoted God willing so WAIT FOR YOUR TIME!!!

MrOpp:
Thanks, Yes I'm in my 30's, & I have read the above quoted book, TBH, I don't intend to outshine him, he is way more experience than I am, I respect his position, but I also believe managers should give their subordinate opportunity to showcase the little there can offer. that's how subordinate can learn. I also believe managers shouldn't colonize praises, credit & benefits, rather credit and benefit should be given across board.

There is a saying that the patient dog eats the fatest bone. No matter how dark the night, a light cannot be hidden. If you are truly good, your light will shine. RELAX and grow in obscurity.

ejibaba:
Thank you but I maintain my stand...if you really have the sense as claimed do a double check on my claim and you would verify my assertion, though not 100% but to large extent. We carried out a study 5years back on cultural influence on leadership disposition and style and this informed my statement.

Nothing personal or insulting in post as I never claimed any tribe was better. So tribal warlord take a chill

you made.a sweeping accusations on a tribe on social media and you have the effontry to come here to.mention a fallacious research... you really have no sense

Well If I would advise, you should just allow him to take the glory for now, it won't last forever. Am sure one day ur GMD must dig deep into his performance and who and who contribute to may be success on his area of delivery and sure he will mention your name, except he z a demon himself. I have had such issue with my manager, when the time became riped, he couldn't hold the commendation which earned me a 30% increment in my Salary. So Bro, just leave things to work on its accord........Wish u good luck.

nextstep:
This is an odd addition to an otherwise sane discussion.


OP: I think the advice not to outshine your leader; to be patient; remain humble; demonstrate loyalty to your immediate boss; maintain your good relationship, and pay your dues; these will do you much more good than "arrogantly" displaying your intelligence and abilities. I say arrogantly, not because you are, but because of how it will be perceived. I've quoted this entire post below because I think it's important enough to be read twice... very very good words here:

Bros, nothing odd here, it's just fact. I made that statement from an empirical perspective and personal experience. I never said any tribe was better. It's just the attributes that are usually observed from leaders from the region. I understand how divided we're now so any statement person makes now seem tribal

Who says management is not watching? Just do your thing to grow, not for the accolades or anything, with time all your efforts will pay off...besides have you ever considered he is also a good boss cos he is approachable and takes to your recommendations? Some bosses won't even listen to a quarter of what you have to say. E.g that software thingy you mentioned, another boss will act like he has all dat planned already and bring in his own people to do the software work...same problem, same result...he still gets the glory
Just do your job biko

Boss13:
Don’t listen to this advice. You will be replace. Your Boss appraises you. Even if there is no formal appraisals, top management will get feedback about you from him. That’s how it’s being done.

Your Boss is new and still trying to consolidate his position with his own Bosses. I don’t think he is threatened by you, but he is threaten by the impression his Bosses have about him. Continue to make him shine and as you do, Top management will realized that the made the right decision in hiring the right staff. Don’t forget you are actually occupying some people’s space who were sacked. Your focus is ensuring your job/dept is safe by continuing working and allowing your Boss strengthen relationship. If you go the route you are thinking, Top management will sack you and leave your Boss. Team work is actually an important skill.

You've said it all sir, as a matter of great fact. Even if this particular Boss resigns from that Office tomorrow & moves on to a better/foreign companies like Oracle, Apple, Schlumberger etc to be an Accounting Lead. He would take this guy everywhere he goes because he(the boss) knows this young lad is a Star.

As long as it's just 6 months in, he can be planning for his future to learn everything he can learn & move on to a better company in another, 1 Yr 6 Months. Yes, this manager may be using him but I'm sure when he his asked to give recommendation about a staff, he would be the first to be recommended.

So what I would tell anyone in this Situation is to continue to foster the relationship between himself & the Boss. If it doesn't work out still, he should then plan to leave that company for another, but one thing I'll never advise anyone is to try to expose your Boss or Speak ill about him. Just Shut up & let God fight for you.

You're ambitious, which is very good but you need to be patience and apply a lot of wisdom. What is happening in ur company is almost everywhere. If u quit today, u might probably still find yourself in similar situation.
Do you also know that ur manager takes d heat when things go wrong. You're just 6 month, don't rush tins, ur time will come, it will ALWAYS come. You have a fantastic relationship with your boss, you share almost everything together, that should count for something. Very few people have this privilege. My bro, may u never work in a place where u and ur boss go dey get beef, especially if ur boss they attend Mgt meeting on behalf of ur dept, you won't last six month unless tru Gods grace.
My advice, continue giving ur best, someone somewhere is watching. I was once in ur shoes, I was calm, acted like everything is okay. My boss later got another great job, a year after, he ask me to join him again, the figure on the offer letter was mouth watering, I did not think twice. The truth is, keeping a good and healthy relationship matters more than " shining". Keep the relationship healthy bro.

coolcharm:
Hey OP,

I have a feeling that you are in your late 20's or early 30's.. I might be wrong, but I strongly sense so because you exuade so much energy and ambition with your write up.

While it is not a bad thing, you need to simmer down.

In corporate settings, there are always structured reporting lines, and you are his direct report!, Except you want to become his competition, which is what him 'stealing your shine' implies.

No matter how intelligent or smart you think you are on the job, never make the mistake of outsining your master (in this case, your boss).

That is the first law in Robert Greene's '48 Laws of Power'.

I leave you with excerpts from that book;

Law 1: Never Outshine the Master - Keys to Power
Robert Greene

Everyone has insecurities. When you show yourself in the world and display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity. This is to be expected. You cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others.

With those above you, however, you must take a different approach: when it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.

Do not fool yourself into thinking that life has changed much since the days of Louis XIV and the Medicis.

Those who attain high standing in life are like kings and queens: they want to feel secure in their positions, and superior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm.

It is a deadly but common misperception to believe that by displaying and vaunting your gifts and talents, you are winning the master's affection.

He may feign appreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace you with someone less intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as Louis XIV replaced the sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert. And as with Louis, he will not admit the truth, but will find an excuse to rid himself of your presence.

------------------------------ End of quote --------------------------------



My final advice to you is to find ways to balance your ambition with patience and wisdom.

You reason like a Nigerian. Infighting, betrayal, conspiracy, politicking in the workplace leaving the organization's goals unattended.

With all due respect this is very poor advice.

It happens in every organization, Apply wisdom

I known how you feel, get flow with your manager with matter of mgt we see you potential

Why wouldn't he take the glory when he's your boss. There's an adage that says "na who get fowl get the egg". You should deliver for him.

MrOpp:
Hello my fellow NLers,

I have been spending quite sometime on this forum recently, TBH, it has been informative, entertaining & quite educative.

I am presently in a dilemma and I need urgent input from experienced NLers, I believe we have experienced career people here that must have gone through what am going through at the moment.

I got a job about 6months ago, its quite a good job, thanks to Nairaland job section, on resumption I notice there was a total overhaul of my dept, all former staff were fired and we were employ to replace them. I resume same day with my Dept Manager two months later a junior officer was employ to join us.

I have had a fantastic relationship with my manager the past six months, and we are in good terms, we drive home together everyday, we chat, have quality conversation, even lunch together etc. but am really becoming worried about something else....

My manger seems to take credit for all my work, he somehow deny me opportunity to prove my worth to top management. Now I will give you a typical instance.

Whenever our GMD comes around, there is always a meeting with one rep from each dept. not neccessarily the departmental head, in his absence am suppose to represent the department, he denies me of opportunity like this.


He has on many occassions deny my opportunity to meet the GMD on job related issues, when the GMD needs to see someone from my dept. or sign some documents even in his absence, he either call me to handover documents to the GMD secretary or send an office assistant to drop the document.

Furthermore, on resumption, I noticed the coy still run their account dept manually, an accounting software was introduce, a software i have used for years, which he (my Manager) is not familiar with, though after the software was deploy, we were trained, even after the training he seems not to know his way around the software interface, i single handedly automated all historial data for the previous 2yrs, and my manager took the credit at the magt meetings. Without even mentioning my name, its really annoying.

I am totally pissed right not cos, he just got a pay rise courtesy to the successful deployment and automation of the accounting system, which he knows absolutely nothing about, which i singledhandedly, paintstakingly work on for over 6months even investing my Saturdays.

The above is one instance out of so many.

I expect a manager to represent work done my the department he manages as "WE in so & so dept" I have overheard him many times using "I".

He personally ask me not to pass any dept info to mgt staff member, and all enquiries should be refered to him. I feel he doesnt want me to shine.

I need advise from fellow NLers who have gone through similar situation.

This is not really going well with me.

coolcharm:
Hey OP,

I have a feeling that you are in your late 20's or early 30's.. I might be wrong, but I strongly sense so because you exuade so much energy and ambition with your write up.

While it is not a bad thing, you need to simmer down.

In corporate settings, there are always structured reporting lines, and you are his direct report!, Except you want to become his competition, which is what him 'stealing your shine' implies.

No matter how intelligent or smart you think you are on the job, never make the mistake of outsining your master (in this case, your boss).

That is the first law in Robert Greene's '48 Laws of Power'.

I leave you with excerpts from that book;

Law 1: Never Outshine the Master - Keys to Power
Robert Greene

Everyone has insecurities. When you show yourself in the world and display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity. This is to be expected. You cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others.

With those above you, however, you must take a different approach: when it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.

Do not fool yourself into thinking that life has changed much since the days of Louis XIV and the Medicis.

Those who attain high standing in life are like kings and queens: they want to feel secure in their positions, and superior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm.

It is a deadly but common misperception to believe that by displaying and vaunting your gifts and talents, you are winning the master's affection.

He may feign appreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace you with someone less intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as Louis XIV replaced the sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert. And as with Louis, he will not admit the truth, but will find an excuse to rid himself of your presence.

------------------------------ End of quote --------------------------------



My final advice to you is to find ways to balance your ambition with patience and wisdom.

The manager is not his employer! So he is not his boss!

Are u saying d manager will take d blame if any mistake happens?

Ogbeni! 48 laws of power does not apply here.
Nigger has a typical black mans 'bring down' syndrome. The manager did not employ him.

MrOpp:
Thanks, Yes I'm in my 30's, & I have read the above quoted book, TBH, I don't intend to outshine him, he is way more experience than I am, I respect his position, but I also believe managers should give their subordinate opportunity to showcase the little there can offer. that's how subordinate can learn. I also believe managers shouldn't colonize praises, credit & benefits, rather credit and benefit should be given across board.

please don't answer him ooo, I fell a victim of this, my story was legendary in the firm, please and please and please, if there is any anonymous wayu can convey what is happening to the gmd please do it,your manager is not your master, if all you wrote up there is true, that guy is more or less a supervisor to head your team, a good manager will give credit to his team, he will even show his team members to the executives if the opportunity comes, if not the gmd try someone close to the gmd, and avoid all those eating together nonsense, make it strictly work nothing more he will get the message and just do your work, i detest people like that, he can't even let you sign when he is not around, what a crap.

coolcharm:
Hey OP,

I have a feeling that you are in your late 20's or early 30's.. I might be wrong, but I strongly sense so because you exuade so much energy and ambition with your write up.

While it is not a bad thing, you need to simmer down.

In corporate settings, there are always structured reporting lines, and you are his direct report!, Except you want to become his competition, which is what him 'stealing your shine' implies.

No matter how intelligent or smart you think you are on the job, never make the mistake of outsining your master (in this case, your boss).

That is the first law in Robert Greene's '48 Laws of Power'.

I leave you with excerpts from that book;

Law 1: Never Outshine the Master - Keys to Power
Robert Greene

Everyone has insecurities. When you show yourself in the world and display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity. This is to be expected. You cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others.

With those above you, however, you must take a different approach: when it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.

Do not fool yourself into thinking that life has changed much since the days of Louis XIV and the Medicis.

Those who attain high standing in life are like kings and queens: they want to feel secure in their positions, and superior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm.

It is a deadly but common misperception to believe that by displaying and vaunting your gifts and talents, you are winning the master's affection.

He may feign appreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace you with someone less intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as Louis XIV replaced the sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert. And as with Louis, he will not admit the truth, but will find an excuse to rid himself of your presence.

------------------------------ End of quote --------------------------------




My final advice to you is to find ways to balance your ambition with patience and wisdom.

Spot on! Nothing more to add.

AntiWailer:
Who should ?


Do your work and watch him have ur back when there is crisis

best response, I was in similar situation, I even had to write minutes for meetings I never attended. but you know what. My back was fully covered when I least expected in management meetings in terms of promotion.

This is a very common problem in any work environment. You need to be careful with such manager. Be very nice to him and never let him not suspect this game I want to teach you.

If possible, Disrupt a vital thing in that software. Disguise as if it's a new problem you've never seen before. Keep troubleshooting and make the troubleshooting very obvious to almost everyone in that office. Fix the problem later. Repeat this process again and again until it's obvious to everyone that you are the brain behind but remember to still keep respecting your manager. Keep hyping him by telling him you have more solutions to bring on-board.

Your time to shine will surely come. Don't rush. Patiently wait.
​

Hehe, you self nawaa.

Seems you aren't use to office games. Bros, what you are experiencing is now seen as a norm.

Oga Manager must protect his job too. Hence you're under him, He takes the glory and also the bullcrap.

Take Facebook for an example, Mark takes the glory but those who are actually doing the work are no where to be found in the public like that.

When Facebook had an issue with data and was taken to the senate, him Mark Zuckerberg went to clear the mess.

Ask yourself, will you also be ready to clear a mess when the time come.


In this space, your boss is higher than you.


Do your thing and STFU

MrOpp:
Hello my fellow NLers,

I have been spending quite sometime on this forum recently, TBH, it has been informative, entertaining & quite educative.

I am presently in a dilemma and I need urgent input from experienced NLers, I believe we have experienced career people here that must have gone through what am going through at the moment.

I got a job about 6months ago, its quite a good job, thanks to Nairaland job section, on resumption I notice there was a total overhaul of my dept, all former staff were fired and we were employ to replace them. I resume same day with my Dept Manager two months later a junior officer was employ to join us.

I have had a fantastic relationship with my manager the past six months, and we are in good terms, we drive home together everyday, we chat, have quality conversation, even lunch together etc. but am really becoming worried about something else....

My manger seems to take credit for all my work, he somehow deny me opportunity to prove my worth to top management. Now I will give you a typical instance.

Whenever our GMD comes around, there is always a meeting with one rep from each dept. not neccessarily the departmental head, in his absence am suppose to represent the department, he denies me of opportunity like this.


He has on many occassions deny my opportunity to meet the GMD on job related issues, when the GMD needs to see someone from my dept. or sign some documents even in his absence, he either call me to handover documents to the GMD secretary or send an office assistant to drop the document.

Furthermore, on resumption, I noticed the coy still run their account dept manually, an accounting software was introduce, a software i have used for years, which he (my Manager) is not familiar with, though after the software was deploy, we were trained, even after the training he seems not to know his way around the software interface, i single handedly automated all historial data for the previous 2yrs, and my manager took the credit at the magt meetings. Without even mentioning my name, its really annoying.

I am totally pissed right not cos, he just got a pay rise courtesy to the successful deployment and automation of the accounting system, which he knows absolutely nothing about, which i singledhandedly, paintstakingly work on for over 6months even investing my Saturdays.

The above is one instance out of so many.

I expect a manager to represent work done my the department he manages as "WE in so & so dept" I have overheard him many times using "I".

He personally ask me not to pass any dept info to mgt staff member, and all enquiries should be refered to him. I feel he doesnt want me to shine.

I need advise from fellow NLers who have gone through similar situation.

This is not really going well with me.

Just mark your time. The labour market is tough. Your time to shine will come. An opportunity to showcase yourself will come and your manager will have no choice but to praise you in the presence of management. He will not always be around everyday of the year, every year. He will go on vacation one day. Just as someone advised earlier, “Never outshine your master”. You need to tow that line. The labour market is tough and there are bills to be paid.

coolcharm:
Hey OP,

I have a feeling that you are in your late 20's or early 30's.. I might be wrong, but I strongly sense so because you exuade so much energy and ambition with your write up.

While it is not a bad thing, you need to simmer down.

In corporate settings, there are always structured reporting lines, and you are his direct report!, Except you want to become his competition, which is what him 'stealing your shine' implies.

No matter how intelligent or smart you think you are on the job, never make the mistake of outsining your master (in this case, your boss).

That is the first law in Robert Greene's '48 Laws of Power'.

I leave you with excerpts from that book;

Law 1: Never Outshine the Master - Keys to Power
Robert Greene

Everyone has insecurities. When you show yourself in the world and display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity. This is to be expected. You cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others.

With those above you, however, you must take a different approach: when it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.

Do not fool yourself into thinking that life has changed much since the days of Louis XIV and the Medicis.

Those who attain high standing in life are like kings and queens: they want to feel secure in their positions, and superior to those around them in intelligence, wit, and charm.

It is a deadly but common misperception to believe that by displaying and vaunting your gifts and talents, you are winning the master's affection.

He may feign appreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace you with someone less intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as Louis XIV replaced the sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert. And as with Louis, he will not admit the truth, but will find an excuse to rid himself of your presence.

------------------------------ End of quote --------------------------------



My final advice to you is to find ways to balance your ambition with patience and wisdom.

well said