How to Identify a Bad Manager and What to Do Next
A Tale of Cornflakes, Clarity, and Taking Charge
I rang my line manager to ask a question.
I thought it was a reasonable question.
I rang to ask because, to me, the answer to the question was not obvious and required some input from my line manager.
I’m not a stupid person — I don’t think. I have two college degrees and a diploma, with a grade point average of 3.8. I don’t say that to boast — only to confirm that I’m not a stupid person — I don’t think.
However, after I asked the question to my line manager, I was made to feel like a stupid person. “Well, obviously… you would do this,” she said, dripping with condescension.
“Ah,” I thought to myself, “How could I be so stupid?”
Obviously, if it’s obvious to her, it should be obvious to everyone, including me. I don’t know how I failed to read her mind. My psychic powers must have been slightly below par on that particular day.
It might have been only a brief conversation, but by the end of it, I had made a few decisions. You could even call them resolutions. Firstly, I decided to call my line manager only if absolutely necessary and avoid all unnecessary interactions. Secondly, I decided to plan my…
