Should I dob on my bully GM to the boss?

This article first appeared October 19, 2009.

Dear Aunty B,

You brighten my day and I always look forward to reading your blog when I get back from lunch.

My problem is this. I have a GM who is bullying me. He expects me to work long hours but won’t give me a job description. I think I am doing about five people’s jobs! He belittles me and calls me “blondie” and yells at me in front of others. Lately he has excluded me from meetings although I still attend the fixed meetings. It is no good telling me to ask him what is wrong. I did and he told me “I wouldn’t understand”.

I am a hard worker and always do a good job and had no trouble with my previous GM. But if he won’t tell me what’s wrong how am I to fix it?

The guy who owns our business is a real people’s person and I am sure that if I explained it to him, I would get a response. It’s just that he is not around a lot and doesn’t know how bad this GM is. I have also asked for a performance review but was told we don’t have time.

My question is, if I do that will it make my situation worse?

Hate my boss,
NSW

Dear Hatemyboss,

Heard the expression: Talk to the head not the arse? It’s a good one. It means bypass your bullying GM who has no idea how to manage and complain to the top. Make sure everything is well documented with a list of what you want – ie. performance reviews, KPIs, etc.

Don’t whinge and talk too much. Keep it factual and simple. It is likely you are not the first to complain. Make sure everything you say is to help the business run better and does not turn into a personal attack against the GM.

Good luck,
Your Aunty B

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