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What to Do If You Think Your Boss Is Shutting You Out

What to Do If You Think Your Boss Is Shutting You Out

This article originally appeared on hbr.org.

In an ideal world, your boss would support you and your career goals, open up opportunities, and pave the way for you to be successful at your company. But the world isn’t ideal and even managers who once seemed quite supportive can make a sudden shift. For example, the boss of a technical director I worked with seemed to lose confidence in her and would effectively embargo her comments, not sharing them with other senior leaders; the boss of a marketing director in another client company explicitly forbade her to chat with other senior leaders she previously had access to.

It can be extremely difficult to deal with a boss who is shutting you out. They may exclude you from crucial meetings, stop answering or deflect your questions, disparage your input, and ignore your needs for resources or other support. Perhaps they’ll go around you to talk directly with your staff, particularly if they know you disagree with their direction. Bosses may behave this way if they don’t believe you’re loyal to them, if they feel threatened by your expertise, or if they’re concerned that you’re undermining their standing with the rest of the organization.

Regardless of the specific reason, here are four approaches you can use to attempt rapprochement, maintain satisfaction with your job (if not with your boss), and keep your career moving forward.

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