Trumped by your own boss

[Stephen Drain]

James Comey said he was confused by Trump’s behaviour. Several pieces of Comey’s evidence struck me as familiar when dealing with toxic leaders: “The president and I had multiple conversations about my job. He repeatedly told me I was doing a great job and asked if I would stay on. I told him I intended to serve out the remaining six years of my term” and later “The President began by asking me whether I wanted to stay on as FBI Director, which I found strange because he had already told me twice in earlier conversations that he hoped I would stay, and I had assured him that I intended to” and “Near the end of our dinner, the President returned to the subject of my job, saying he was very glad I wanted to stay, adding that he had heard great things about me from Jim Mattis, Jeff Sessions, and many others. He then said, “I need loyalty””.

If you’ve worked up close with the sort of boss Trump appears to be you might have noticed certain behaviours all at once:

• Praise
• References to commentary about you from others named (and many times un-named)
• Questions about your role on matters settled between you and your boss as though they weren’t

It’s quite likely that this sort of boss is simply manifestly insecure and unsure about decisions recently made. Even if it’s only that, there’s very little good to come with staying around while the behaviour continues. Corporate bullies in positions of ultimate power in their environment are not good for you..

In isolation each of these behaviours may be explainable, but in my experience, put together they paint a very dangerous picture.

Maybe time to move on or get expert assistance.

Stephen