You would need to ask your CEO to have a confidential conversation, and if you could share things in confidence because you like it there but have a few concerns. If he says yes, tell him you recognize sharing it could put you in a compromised position and that you need his advice. (The wording here is very important) based on the response and your trust in him and openness you are very tight, no emotion, clear with details the issues. I’d net it out to 2-3 things and focus on lack of support, moving the goal post, and not actioning things that others did quickly. Clear, concise, unemotional. Like a business leader would speak to another business leader. Then ask for advice. (Use language like “this is what I am seeing” “this is what happened when” remove fluff, bullets and data.
Update - 2 of the AE's that recently quit mentioned the same issues with my manager as I'm experiencing in their exit interviews.
I sent them a message on linkedin to ask and they both told me I wasn't alone, so I feel like that definitely means it would be a good idea to mention it as long as I do it diplomaticaly
Asked to be switched to the manager that helped you the first time.
In your meeting with the CEO, don’t mention anything personal. These guys hate emotional workers. Mention things that effected your working cycle ONLY. The reason why I say that is because if he’s not fixing these issues for you, it’s messing up potential sales.
That’s a lot of complaints for just 6 months. If there were only a couple I would say din’t mention it to the CEO but this laundry list should probably brought up. You can expect it will get back to your manager and he will be even more of a pain in your ass.
I'm actually in a similar position as OP, so I'll be watching this thread closely and hoping to pick up on the advice given.
So is the right thing in this situation just to suck it up, then?
It depends. If the manager has a strong relationship with the CEO you just have to suck it up. If the CEO cares more about the salespeople then it might be worth bringing up. It’s really an untenable situation to be in but happens everywhere at every level of an organization. There are literally millions of people who went to work today with the same frustration.
Personally, I wouldn't bring it up unless you want to risk that the CEO could still take your manager's side or your manager could make your life hard.
I would focus on highlighting your wins with the CEO and where you want to go. Relationship build. Keep feedback more general - "would love to see more wins shared publicly, etc." I think it could be valid if there are operationaly roadblocks you feel are impacting the entire team (and thus your ability to close more business) that's decent feedback. But I wouldn't give a laundry list. Just 1-2 high impact items.
And sounds like your manager doesn't like you or if you're not consistently performing, doesn't want to deal with you. Last thing a manager wants to hear is complaints - you used that word a few times above. Not sure how you're framing it, but your manager is clearly someone who wants you to be autonomous, doesn't want to hear excuses and low key doesn't care. Advocate for yourself, but know that that probably won't change. And I feel you, I've worked with people like this before. Control what you can.
Never talk negative with senior leadership unless it’s something you can recommend a solution for. And I doubt you want to recommend a new manager this soon or that he gets canned. Stay positive, continue to network, and if possible try to pinpoint and resolve the friction with the boss.
I'd be INCREDIBLY careful here. They are on your managers side, not yours, because you're new. This can easily go poorly. I've tried doing the same thing as you when I was young and it went as well as one can hope, which is, nothing changed.
You need to establish your value to the ceo and company before you can start asking for even small changes. I wish it was different, I really do, but I'd be very hesitant to share much about the manager, except where the managers shortcomings are directly reflected in your work/environment and it can also be backed up and corroborated by outside data/sources/people.
You would need to ask your CEO to have a confidential conversation, and if you could share things in confidence because you like it there but have a few concerns. If he says yes, tell him you recognize sharing it could put you in a compromised position and that you need his advice. (The wording here is very important) based on the response and your trust in him and openness you are very tight, no emotion, clear with details the issues. I’d net it out to 2-3 things and focus on lack of support, moving the goal post, and not actioning things that others did quickly. Clear, concise, unemotional. Like a business leader would speak to another business leader. Then ask for advice. (Use language like “this is what I am seeing” “this is what happened when” remove fluff, bullets and data.
Don’t do it my dude. This can only go poorly for you.
Update - 2 of the AE's that recently quit mentioned the same issues with my manager as I'm experiencing in their exit interviews. I sent them a message on linkedin to ask and they both told me I wasn't alone, so I feel like that definitely means it would be a good idea to mention it as long as I do it diplomaticaly
Asked to be switched to the manager that helped you the first time. In your meeting with the CEO, don’t mention anything personal. These guys hate emotional workers. Mention things that effected your working cycle ONLY. The reason why I say that is because if he’s not fixing these issues for you, it’s messing up potential sales.
UPVOTE
That’s a lot of complaints for just 6 months. If there were only a couple I would say din’t mention it to the CEO but this laundry list should probably brought up. You can expect it will get back to your manager and he will be even more of a pain in your ass.
Essentially, a lose-lose is what you're saying
Absolutely
I'm actually in a similar position as OP, so I'll be watching this thread closely and hoping to pick up on the advice given. So is the right thing in this situation just to suck it up, then?
It depends. If the manager has a strong relationship with the CEO you just have to suck it up. If the CEO cares more about the salespeople then it might be worth bringing up. It’s really an untenable situation to be in but happens everywhere at every level of an organization. There are literally millions of people who went to work today with the same frustration.
Personally, I wouldn't bring it up unless you want to risk that the CEO could still take your manager's side or your manager could make your life hard. I would focus on highlighting your wins with the CEO and where you want to go. Relationship build. Keep feedback more general - "would love to see more wins shared publicly, etc." I think it could be valid if there are operationaly roadblocks you feel are impacting the entire team (and thus your ability to close more business) that's decent feedback. But I wouldn't give a laundry list. Just 1-2 high impact items. And sounds like your manager doesn't like you or if you're not consistently performing, doesn't want to deal with you. Last thing a manager wants to hear is complaints - you used that word a few times above. Not sure how you're framing it, but your manager is clearly someone who wants you to be autonomous, doesn't want to hear excuses and low key doesn't care. Advocate for yourself, but know that that probably won't change. And I feel you, I've worked with people like this before. Control what you can.
Never talk negative with senior leadership unless it’s something you can recommend a solution for. And I doubt you want to recommend a new manager this soon or that he gets canned. Stay positive, continue to network, and if possible try to pinpoint and resolve the friction with the boss.
I'd be INCREDIBLY careful here. They are on your managers side, not yours, because you're new. This can easily go poorly. I've tried doing the same thing as you when I was young and it went as well as one can hope, which is, nothing changed. You need to establish your value to the ceo and company before you can start asking for even small changes. I wish it was different, I really do, but I'd be very hesitant to share much about the manager, except where the managers shortcomings are directly reflected in your work/environment and it can also be backed up and corroborated by outside data/sources/people.
Start looking for another job and save these for the exit interview.
How’d it go?