Trust is such an important element of our lives. And it is equally important in the workplace. We need to be able to trust our co-workers to give us what we need to do our work. We need to be able to trust someone to delegate them a task. We need to be able to trust someone when you want to confide in them and so on.
Your work relation with your boss should be primarily built on trust. Your boss needs to be able to trust you to get the job done, make the right decisions and represent him/her and the department and organization accurately.
Here are 5 subtle and not so subtle signs that may indicate that your boss does not trust you and what to do about it.
1. Less Responsibility – After a reasonable amount of time in a role, if your boss does not give you more responsibility or the amount of work and the kind of work assigned is not challenging, that may be a sign indicating that your boss does not trust your capabilities to give you more responsibilities. If your boss seems to take on what you are capable of doing and prefers to do it himself/herself, it is a strong indication of lack of trust(excluding confidential matters). The reasons for this may be numerous:
- You may have been rigid at times and not displayed flexibility
- You may have made numerous mistakes before and thereby your capabilities do not reflect as up to to the mark
- You may have displayed stress and overwhelm symptoms when given a little bit of additional responsibility
What to do about it: First reflect and identify instances in your work and behavior that may have led your boss to not trust your skills and capabilities. Work on producing great quality work to help your boss gain confidence in your capabilities. Additionally, display enthusiasm towards added responsibility and seek challenging opportunities with your boss when possible.
2. Information sharing – If your boss seems to withhold information from you that he/she shares easily with others in the workplace especially things that pertain to your job or the future of the department/organization, that may be another sign of mistrust. This is a difficult one to assess as sometimes the information sharing may have happened due to your non-availability or you just haven’t been around in the right place at the right time or your boss has simply forgotten. When doubt arises in your mind about this, look for patterns to decide if this is true.
What to do about it: Once you ascertain for sure that you are the only one not receiving the information, bring it up with your boss. In your conversation, convey your excitement about being part of the team and talk about ways you are a value-add on the team and how having pertinent information at the right time helps you do your job better.
3. Micro-management – If it seems like your boss is micromanaging you constantly, it may be another give-away sign. Of course, you need to first ascertain if that is your boss’s management style with everyone. If it seems to apply exclusively to you, then it is definitely a sign to consider and work towards.
What to do about it: To address this, you have to build credibility through your work. This attitude from bosses is generally seen when an employee is new on the job or a new task is assigned. Micro management is basically a way to ensure the work is done correctly and as expected. If you can allay the fears of your boss with examples as well as through prior work, the micro management style should most often go away.
4. Opinions don’t matter – If it appears that your opinions don’t matter to your boss, that may be another red flag. If what you bring up as issues relating to your work are not addressed, if your viewpoints are not considered and if your not given a chance in meetings with your boss to talk, it may be a sign that your opinion does not matter to your boss as he/she does not trust you.
What to do about it: Again, reflect and see if there were any glaring incidents in the past that has caused the lack of trust. This sign may also indicate a lack of perceived value as well. If your boss perceives you as not adding value to the team, that may manifest as disregard for your opinions. That may signal an impending danger to your job. There is no equivalent to doing the job right and producing quality work. That may be the best approach.
5. Never happy – If your boss never seems to like the work you do and is always either suggesting a different way of doing it or re-doing what you did, it may be a sign of lack of trust. Again, you need to first assess and see if this your boss’s style in general towards everyone or if it seems to be exclusively towards you.
What to do about it: This situation warrants a conversation with your boss to understand and clarify the expectations. Make sure you express that you want to do it the right way and would like to clarify needs and expectations.
Now let’s get back to producing quality work and adding value!
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