Has your boss ever sabotaged your efforts to take on a new role?

Our reader poll today asks: Has your boss ever sabotaged your efforts to take on a new role?

• Absolutely. They ruined a good opportunity for me.: 49.6%
• Maybe. They didn’t support me the way they should have.: 28.3%
• Never. They’ve always encouraged me to take new roles.: 22.1%

Talent hoarding is career sabotage. Unfortunately the majority of you report you’ve had a boss who has stymied your attempts to take on a new role. The likely reason behind it is talent hoarding on the part of that boss. If you’re a solid performer, they don’t want to go through the pain of losing you. That means they’ll sometimes go to unsavory ends to keep you around. If you’re worried about being sabotaged, a few simple techniques like getting a written reference and alleviating their concerns about your transition can help them get comfortable with your departure. If that doesn’t work, sometimes you just have to either confront them about it and make the leap for that new role. I also encourage you to ask if you’ve ever held back someone on your team and if so, how can you prevent that from happening in the future.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 210,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.