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Are you struggling to reach your full potential at work? You feel that your environment is not set up well and that you are losing your passion for work. You are working with horrible bosses that are making things miserable for you. You are not alone here. Most work environments can become toxic due to how management decides to run the business. In this post, you will learn the most common reasons you are not reaching your full potential.
Most people do not reach their full potential because of their bosses. Toxic leaders are common in organisations. They micromanage people, never listen to anyone’s ideas, always shoot your ideas down and never give you enough credit. This can destroy your self-esteem and seriously impact your mental health by not reaching your true hidden potential.
The following are 5 ways your boss is getting in the way of reaching your full potential:
1- Shotting your ideas down
Unfortunately, many bosses make decisions on their own because they have a hard time listening to their team’s ideas. Shotting your ideas down without much reasoning and discussion is a sign that your boss is preventing you from reaching your potential.
People who work in an organisation for over a year will develop a good understanding of what might affect the business. If your boss does not want to listen to your thoughts, or worse, he might listen but does not consider them; they probably do not see the value in the idea itself. It can be that your boss has considered your idea before, or your boss does not take everything you say seriously. Either way, without any communication, this could have a huge impact on your confidence in the workplace.
2- Taking credit for your work
Not considering your ideas is bad, but taking credit for your work is even worse. It is basically stealing your work and effort. This is very common in big organisations where line managers steal their underlings’ ideas to look like they are working hard. But in truth, they are building their success on your effort.
If you are suffering from this, it is important to ensure that you are always present in any critical meeting and do not explain everything to your boss, giving you the upper hand to step in when required. If you complain about your boss, no one will believe you, but if you take the time to gather evidence, you will have a better chance of exposing your boss.
3- Not compensating you well enough
Not getting paid what you deserve is a sign that your boss does not value your efforts. Many might be sticking to a job that does not show their true potential, either because they do not understand their true worth or because their bosses are manipulating them.
Many might be convinced that their boss knows what is best for them, so they stay in a dead-end job working super hard for their bosses, not developing any skills and getting paid enough. The best thing to do is to understand the market demand for your position and how much they usually get paid. Then take it to your boss. If they do not agree to raise your wages, it means that they do not value your importance to the organisation, especially if you have worked there for years.
4- Treating you badly and even disrespecting
Is your boss short-tempered and into micro-management? These are huge signs that your boss is extremely toxic. They want everything to be done in their own way without much questioning, and they do not mind snapping at you if you do not do what they want.
Unfortunately, many organisations still value those types of people, especially in demanding industries such as STEM fields. It is difficult to converse with them as they see all employees as numbers. Those type of people only trusts a few in the organisation. If you are not one of them, you are disrespected a lot.
5- Putting you in a highly competitive and stressful environment
Many might argue that competition in the workplace is good, but it is actually not. It turns the workplace from collaborative and engaging to a battlefield that can seriously affect the company’s ability to retain employees.
In fact, in the long run, a competitive workplace negatively affects the organisation’s productivity because organisations prosper in trust, teamwork, and collaboration. Competitive environments are very hostile where everyone works for themselves. It might be good in the short term but very bad in the long run.
How to reach your hidden potential?
Your boss might be a high performer that gets the job done but is never an easy person to work with. You are not alone here. Watch how toxic leaders are never desirable in any organisation, by Simon Sinek.
A good way to reach your full potential is to read Start with Why by Simon Sinek, available on Amazon.
Moreover, realising how your boss is affecting your work productivity is a good way to deal with this problem. I have summarised the top 8 Reasons You Are Losing Passion For Work-How to Fix?.
If you study the situation well in your organisation based on this information, you will clearly understand how your boss affects your workplace productivity. To take action is to work on yourself first. If you lack confidence, this post might help: How To Show Confidence In The Workplace.
Finally, if you feel that you have tried everything and it is not working out, maybe it is time to find another job. Finding a job nowadays is very easy, and it is much better than staying in a place that does not value your abilities.
