I'm the sales director for another big media company, managing the sales of three trade magazines, several Web sites, and a few supplements. I've been in the job for about three years now, laboring under a boss who is totally unsupportive. In fact, his decisions seem totally unrelated to the business, and I suspect he doesn't really know what's up. I'm afraid to go over his head, but I can't take this situation. What should I do?
Obviously, what you should be doing is trying to get your boss canned, but that's a complicated and lengthy process fraught with peril. As entertaining as it may be to load your boss up with faulty information and start planting mutinous seeds for a staff-wide revolt, such tactics are probably how your current boss got his job, and he may smell a rat. Remember, your incompetent boss was probably once just a soldier like you: young, hungry, and willing to upset the status quo to "make things happen." Now he is a fat, corporate pig who's been feasting for years from the management salary trough—neither willing nor able to snap at the hands that feed him.
If you have a modicum of talent and the willingness to trade your immortal soul for a shot at the bonus pool, you'll be wind up in the same position someday. If all goes well, you will laugh cynically at this query and realize how naïve you once were. For now, you need to compare your political smarts with those of your boss and examine your situation from the perspective of senior management (i.e., "What'll happen if we shitcan Mr. Fatcat Manager and replace him with Young Frustrated at a cheaper salary?"). If you can figure out the answer to that question, you'll know what to do.
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