A survey from Korn Ferry suggests many professionals do not believe their manager is helping them succeed. More than half (58 per cent) of those surveyed say their manager does not help them advance their career. Worse still, nearly half (48 per cent) say their boss has taken credit for something they’ve done, and 39 per cent say that their boss at some point has ‘thrown them under the bus’. Only 35 per cent say they consider their boss as a friend.
“Many professionals have complicated relationships with their managers,” said Dennis Baltzley, Korn Ferry’s global solution leader for leadership development. “While most are eager for their boss to help them learn and grow in their careers, the reality is many time-strapped and career-stressed bosses often don’t make the effort to nurture their direct reports.”
Elsewhere, the study found while 65 per cent of professionals say they do learn from their boss, more than half (56 per cent) say that their boss motivates them to little or no extent.
“Communication gaps have been at the centre of management and direct report disconnects since the beginning of time. Managers often feel they are communicating a great deal, and direct reports feel that they don’t have enough context or information,” said Baltzley. “It’s important to keep an open and continuous dialogue between managers and their direct reports so everyone understands priorities, what success looks like and how responsibilities are divided to achieve shared goals.”
Finally, while 40 per cent of professionals think they could do their boss’s job better than the boss, only 32 per cent would actually want the job.
