Don’t Dim Your Shine Because of Your Jealous Boss
Are you lighting up the office with your charismatic personality, strong work ethic or stellar performance? Sometimes this type of shine might result in negative feedback, such as belittlement and criticism. Or, your manager might frequently ignore or interrupt you to diminish your light. These responses may be indicators of jealousy that could bleed into harmful actions undermining your success and reputation at work.
Do not let the possibility of a jealous supervisor cause you to dim your shine. Instead, employ a few soft skills that will allow you to help others shine along with you across the span of your career.
Understand the psychology behind a display of insecurity
Develop and demonstrate emotional intelligence that will provide the empathy necessary to fully understand another’s perspective even when it contradicts your own view. Your manager might feel inferior or threatened and therefore negatively react to your success. While this is something you have no control over, remember that jealousy often comes from a deeper rooted place of insecurity, and has more to do with your manager, than you. You aren’t doing anything wrong by doing a great job, despite the fact that your manager may make you feel this way.
Continue to do great work and share credit
Though it may seem counterintuitive, this is the perfect occasion to “manage up.”
1) Continue to develop a positive and productive relationship with your manager and
2) Anticipate your manager’s needs.
You can do this by crediting your manager appropriately when you succeed. Publicly and privately acknowledge the support your manager provided that yielded your success. Also step up to support your manager with priorities when you have time. You don’t need to stoop to your manager’s level – but do continue to share credit when it’s due.
Use your success to empower others
If your success garners you leverage, be sure to share that power with your manager first by including them in critical events, explains Ruchi Sinha, an associate professor of organizational behavior. Then, share your expertise and opportunities with your colleagues when possible. Both your colleagues and manager will likely view these actions as collaborative team behaviors.
Realize you can’t change people – but you can focus on your work and other team members
When you experience jealousy from your boss, it’s natural to feel a way. However, you should mostly continue to focus on your work. If your manager crosses a boundary and their jealousy turns into nefarious treatment – it may be time to report them or quit.