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New Boss Out of control:

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Anonymous

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New Boss Out of control:

I have a new boss who needs to constantly be told to do things making me constantly get creative with how to remind them and I don't want to work like this. I'm busy, and I didn't sign up to be an administrative assistant or personal assistant. I am really annoyed by this role they have put me in that we never discussed.

I have worked with two former bosses 1-8 years who never needed this amount of reminding and it makes me feel belittled. All the hoops I have to remember to prevent this person from getting upset or mad with me.

I'm contemplating quitting because this isn't working out for me.

I have tried (personal texts, company wide remiders, and all day calendar reminders, and followup email reminders don't work for them).

any advise?

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  1. Anonymous

    Why do you think they need so many reminders? What kind of work are you reminding them to do?

    Absentminded, caught up in other things, in meetings all the time? Do they think this work someone else should be doing and you are used to this role doing? Getting to the root of why can help you come to terms with it.
    Also take yourself out of the equasion, you said you feel belittled, thats taking the actions personally which is going to make you feel more frustrated

  2. Anonymous

    Your boss sees you as their assistant period. The president of our company is like that takes no responsibility for her schedule or emails or anything. Her amazing assistant is in charge of it all and runs around reminding her of everything and taken the nasty tongue lashings if she feels like she wasn’t told something. A nightmare I would not handle well. It is a very good idea for you to state clearly and politely that you are not interested in being in charge of his/her schedule. Explain that this is not an area of your expertise and you would like to contribute with the skills and talents you were hired for. It really is a skill to be an assistant and not for everyone. Speak up for yourself or continue to be miserable

  3. Anonymous

    It depends on your role and title but this may be part of your new role.

  4. Anonymous

    serious question, have you considered that it might be time for you to move into a management role yourself?

    I had the same situation and I ended up quitting my job over after accepting a management role at another company. i had zero desire to be a people manager, but realized if I didn't move into that role, I would probably be dealing with more and more managers who were less experienced/committed than I was.

  5. Anonymous

    Request a weekly 1:1 and send the invite via Outlook calendar or via Zoom if the 2 of you are remote. Ask for a weekly check in meeting to make sure your new boss gets the info they need and vice versa. If the boss can’t do her job and yells at you that’s on them. I’d brush up the resume and seek work with competent leaders.

  6. Anonymous

    First, Thank you everyone for your replies!

    This response is what I was needing help navigating. Thank you!

    For anyone else in a similar position, I'm a manager with senior years of experience for same company. I have worked for several bosses at the same company for their role. These men and women are HR. Two of them, were experienced, professional, and yes new to the role. The current personnel is where I'm hitting a wall. As many have suggested a 1:1, we tried this only to have my time not respected, rescheduled, or not even show. If I Cc: their boss it will offend them. They are intimidating to many, myself at times included. Before this company, I have reported to many bosses with their same background and qualifications. Not one of them have treated me like this.

    I am a manager, and my boss is HR. This is the best way to address this (for me) and maybe someone else in a similar situation:

    "I find myself waiting on deliverables from you more frequently than I'm used to. In the past, [this is what I did.] What information do you need from me, when creating tasks, to ensure things get correctly prioritized?

    If this was you- Thank you! Wish me luck!

  7. Anonymous

    Yes. thank you. A lot of my collaboration with them is time sensitive. Unfortunately, it will make things uncomfortable if I go to their boss. I'm a manager and they are HR, a difficult situation I am navigating in my years of experience.

  8. Karen P. Storey

    WE CANNOT CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF THE WIND, BUT I CAN ADJUST MY SAILS TO ALWAYS REACH MY DESTINATION! find another opportunity and get the hell out of there... (AFTER YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY)

  9. Anonymous

    If you feel that you're honestly tried everything and your grace period is expired, then let them fail. Let them get feel the full weight of the role they now have and see if that gets them in line with their tasks. It's hard to watch someone fail, however, if you have exhausted ideas, then this is where you're at. IMO

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