How do I handle a malicious manager

Question

For some reason my manager no matter what I do finds falt. Even though I deliver projects on time, under budget or ahead of schedule. Nothing I do is right. I am constantly told how he laid off two people to save my job.

He recently quit the company with little notice, so it seemed, but in truth upper management knew I am sure.

The day before his announcement I had my last one on one with him.
It was the most unprofessional discussion I have ever had. He was ruthless. I told him of a situation and he jumped all over me accused me of putting his organization at risk, over something really minute issue that could not even impact him. Advised I was paranoid about losing my job and bringing it up twice a month which was totally fabricated. Told me he did not even read most of my emails as they were too long. Interesting as I rarely wrote any. Really tore into me in a very hateful tone.

The next morning he announced he quit the company. One of his parting words was that he would ensure to have feedback on our performance. I sent him a wish you well message and got a very short "we will be in touch" and wished me and family good news. Nothing more.

My concern is how do I prevent him from taking part in any review since he resigned and based on his attitude with me. I went to HR once about him.

His whole attitude towards me changed when he found out I was disabled and in a wheelchair.

He is gone but I don't know what kind of damage he did to me or how I recover.

.

Answer 1

If he resigned, I doubt he will hold much sway at this point, so I don't think it will cause you trouble to have had issues with him, given he is no longer there. I have heard of people threatening to say bad things when they leave. I have not heard of anything like that having much of an effect. They're leaving, so why would anyone act on their badmouthing?

If you do have issues, point out your achievements and deal with it then.

I would argue that any attempt to preemptively prevent issues you believe your ex-manager caused you are much more likely to backfire than to have a positive effect. Doing so would definitely end you up in politics - are you sure you want to go there?

I would make sure to get off to a good start with the new manager. Don't try to badmouth the old one, but make sure your achievements and experience are valued by the new.

Upper management may or may not know exactly what was going on with your previous manager - but if the new one has good things to say about you, they'll get the picture.

Good luck!

Answer 2

To me it sounds like he was fired, and tried to blame other people for his performance problems. Most likely his bosses and HR understood that his accusations are not true and he tried to deflect responsibility.

Ignore managers speaking threatening you them probably being kicked out of the door - they have no power any more and everybody knows that you don´t give a shit on evaluations and feedback which disgruntled employees give on the people they manage. If there would have been bad feedback about you which they would have taken serious, it should have been given a long time ago - either his boss and HR didn't take him serious back then, and for sure they won't do it now, since then the manager would have given it so late that it reflects badly on his judgment anyway.

Answer 3

Obviously he was under a lot of pressure either at work or in his personal life and took it out on you, and probably others. It's unlikely from what you described that it's your work that was the problem.

Do not worry about the review, there is nothing you can do about it, and he's left, there is no reason he would be doing your review. Don't make it an issue until it is one. At the moment it just looks like a parting shot from a man under extreme pressure.

Answer 4

In general I wouldn't worry about it since he's gone now. You should look for a new opportunity to make a good "first" impression on a) whoever you report to now (your boss's boss?) and b) your new boss whenever one's put in place. Be positive and eager in your first interactions and you'll overcome any residual doubt from reading old performance reviews/older interactions.

If there's a one-on-one where someone is talking to you more at length, especially if they ask you about the change, do feel free to say, "Well... I don't like to speak ill of anyone, but I have to say it has been difficult working for X over the last Y long. I'm not sure what all was affecting him but I hope he finds a role he enjoys and can excel at going forward." That's diplomatic manager-speak for "The guy was a psycho loser and we both know it." It'll confirm to them they did the right thing and they'll be impressed with you being able to say it in a professional manner.