I have started a new job as a middle level manager several months ago. One of the reasons for me joining the company (let's call it XYZ) was the charisma and competence of my hiring manager, a VP of Technology Operations. His technical competence, open communication , winning smile and management style has won me.

Several months into the job, I have realized that my manager has expressed a very little interest on-boarding me to his level. Yes, he has set up a couple of meetings with the current technology team - so I know where the database server is and how to acknowledge the failed web page. Besides that, not much..

Essentially, he was happy with my technical skills and have me do the work "in the trenches".

I need to clarify a couple of moments here.

First, let's not confuse "the middle level manager on-boarding" with "hand-holding". I am senior and competent enough to figure things out, but as any middle-level manager joining the new organization with relatively complex technical, political, financial and management infrastructure -I would have appreciated if my boss thinks of my progress/success report more often.

Second, a few years back I used to work for a different VP who has actively supported my on-boarding: he ensured that I always attend the Extended Executive meetings, asked my opinions, bounced the ideas to /from me, corrected (if/when necessary) my decision making process, etc. Unfortunately, he has been relocated to another area, and I have changed a couple of jobs since then - but I think I have a fairly good understanding what "a middle level manager on-boarding" should look like..

Fast forward to the present day. Yesterday, my current manager (a VP of Technology) has announced that - "there is a knowledge gap", so he plans to hire someone else to manage me while he focuses on other tasks.

Naturally, I did not say anything, but thought to myself - "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, AS MY MANAGER, TO BRIDGE THE KNOWLEDGE GAP?. Or am I supposed to figure out how things are done on my own in our XYZ corporation (150, 000 employees world wide) " Yes, I have read all documentation. Yes,I have asked all right questions. But I could not insert myself into all management meetings where I was not explicitly invited. I think it is my manager's job, isn't ?

So the question is: looks like my boss is not interested in developing me as a manager, he just happy where he has placed me. Is there any way to reverse that trend? I have expressed that I would like to build a "succession path" for myself for his job (at some point) -yet, if his mind is set, there is not much I can do about it.

Your thoughts?

I have started a new job as a middle level manager several months ago. One of the reasons for me joining the company (let's call it XYZ) was the charisma and competence of my hiring manager, a VP of Technology Operations. His technical competence, open communication , winning smile and management style has won me.

Several months into the job, I have realized that my manager has expressed a very little interest on-boarding me to his level. Yes, he has set up a couple of meetings with the current technology team - so I know where the database server is and how to acknowledge the failed web page. Besides that, not much..

Essentially, he was happy with my technical skills and have me do the work "in the trenches".

Say, I have the technical skills - T1, T2, T3, T4 and manager experience M1, M2, M3.

Essentially, my work is T1, T2, T3 and T5 that have learned in this company. The letter "M" is entirely missing: my boss never asks me to the Extended Staff meetings, makes HR decisions without my input (even for my direct reports), and I am learning the ropes on my own without his active guidance.

I need to clarify a couple of moments here.

First, let's not confuse "the middle level manager on-boarding" with "hand-holding". I am senior and competent enough to figure things out, but as any middle-level manager joining the new organization with relatively complex technical, political, financial and management infrastructure -I would have appreciated if my boss thinks of my progress/success report more often.

Second, a few years back I used to work for a different VP who has actively supported my on-boarding: he ensured that I always attend the Extended Executive meetings, asked my opinions, bounced the ideas to /from me, corrected (if/when necessary) my decision making process, etc. Unfortunately, he has been relocated to another area, and I have changed a couple of jobs since then - but I think I have a fairly good understanding what "a middle level manager on-boarding" should look like..

Fast forward to the present day. Yesterday, my current manager (a VP of Technology) has announced that - "there is a knowledge gap", so he plans to hire someone else to manage me while he focuses on other tasks.

Naturally, I did not say anything, but thought to myself - "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, AS MY MANAGER, TO BRIDGE THE KNOWLEDGE GAP?. Or am I supposed to figure out how things are done on my own in our XYZ corporation (150, 000 employees world wide) " Yes, I have read all documentation. Yes,I have asked all right questions. But I could not insert myself into all management meetings where I was not explicitly invited. I think it is my manager's job, isn't ?

So the question is: looks like my boss is not interested in developing me as a manager, he just happy where he has placed me. Is there any way to reverse that trend? I have expressed that I would like to build a "succession path" for myself for his job (at some point) -yet, if his mind is set, there is not much I can do about it.

Your thoughts?