Competing with supervisor?

[Anonymous]

I have a new supervisor. Although she is the supervisor, I know more about the immediate job because I have been there. It is feeling like she is competing with me. For example, if someone comes to ask a question, she will immediately jump in to help, but then it becomes obvious she doesn't know the answer and I have to get involved. The weird part is we actually do different things on a day to day basis. She also wants it to appear as if she is solving problems and coming up with idea,s when in fact they are my ideas. It happened today, actually. We discussed something and then soon after an email went out saying she had done what I suggested, but there was no mention of me. She also doesn't like when our supervisor comes to me instead of her or when co-workers in a different area come to me instead of her. She thinks everything should go through her. Anything that could make me look better than her, she tries to take from me. In not so many words, she said she can't give me work that could be good for her career.

How do I deal with this type of supervisor? I feel like a supervisor should help develop employees, not hold them down and disadvantage them for their own gain.

[Anonymous]

My supervisor is like that. Why didn't you apply for her job when it came open? I have just resigned myself to job hunting.

[Anonymous]

Well, what would you do if you were in her situation?
How would you treat a knowledgeable and competent staff member who helps you learn the ropes?
Let me tell you - you wouldn't broadcast in your daily communication that she had come up with all the good ideas!

So either gain her trust and help her to help yourself, or look for another position.
You could be proactive and add at the end of private emails: "feel free to use my ideas for X, Y, Z." And at other times, for things you really want credit for, cc the other people on the team, so that everyone knows they come from you.
Given you're the underling here, you definitely have to make more of an effort to support her.
Of course, if she's incompetent, that will eventually become clear, and you may find yourself in line for the post sooner than you think. Network well, and never criticize her within your company.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Well, what would you do if you were in her situation?
How would you treat a knowledgeable and competent staff member who helps you learn the ropes?
Let me tell you - you wouldn't broadcast in your daily communication that she had come up with all the good ideas!

So either gain her trust and help her to help yourself, or look for another position.
You could be proactive and add at the end of private emails: "feel free to use my ideas for X, Y, Z." And at other times, for things you really want credit for, cc the other people on the team, so that everyone knows they come from you.
Given you're the underling here, you definitely have to make more of an effort to support her.
Of course, if she's incompetent, that will eventually become clear, and you may find yourself in line for the post sooner than you think. Network well, and never criticize her within your company.

OP here. Unfortunately I was not able eligible to put in for her job. Due to our current situation, I will likely be at this job for 2 more years.

What do you mean by the bold comment?

[Anonymous]

Lol, I think that was your supervisor stalking you. Did you type this from work?

[Anonymous]

I also would ignored advice from people who refer to others as underlings. That poster seems to lack emotional intelligence. Do your best until a better opportunity comes along either within or outside your organization. Learning to deal with challenging people and situations is part of the career development process. Be careful and mindful about the habits you pick up along the way.

[Anonymous]

I am in a very similar situation. I hate my boss. But I do agree with PP in some respects that if the person is your boss, it is your job to make them look good.

What is the situation with your boss' boss? Do you have a good relationship with that person independent of going thru your boss? In some ways that makes it even harder because you want to show superboss how good you are and regular boss gets in the way.

If you can reorient your objective at work to make your boss pleased with you, then you can find some pleasure in that, perhaps. But if not nothing to do but look for other jobs.