How to Know if Your Boss Is Inhibiting Your Growth at Work and What to Do About It

Toxic bosses come in many forms: micromanaging, uncommunicative, excluding, disrespectful and the list goes on. What’s worse is when these negative traits overlap. Sometimes, toxic bosses can be tolerated—like in situations where you’re rewarded with a promotion or raise at the end of the tunnel. But when they start actively doing things that prevent you from moving forward in your career, you may feel hopeless and frustrated, especially if the job itself or the industry is somewhere you’d like to grow. 

If you have the sneaking suspicion that your boss is trying to block you from growing in your career, you’ve come to the right place. We spoke to a career coach to learn what red flags to look out for to know if your boss is trying to hold you back and what to do if they are.

Signs Your Boss is Inhibiting Your Career Growth

While it can be difficult to differentiate between a boss who just has poor traits and one who is actively trying to stunt your career, these signs—especially when overlapping—may indicate that your boss is of the latter. 

Everything You Do Is Under a Microscope

When every little task you do starts to have some level of oversight or guidance, this can indicate that your boss doesn’t trust your ability to deliver, says Linda Ta Yonemoto, CFEI®, a career and financial coach and the founder of Good For You Money. 

“This is demoralizing and impacts your ability to perform in your role,” she says. 

While a good boss might offer coaching, says Yonemoto, they will give you the space to actually perform the task at hand, which allows for growth in that area. Going hand in hand, another red flag to look out for is when your superior is overly critical of your mistakes. 

“If you’ve owned up to the mistake, learned from it and recognized how to prevent it from happening again, then that’s healthy growth. But if your boss is making you get double or triple levels of approval for minor or routine decisions, you should be concerned,” she says.

When these things happen, Yonemoto urges you to keep a record of them so future you isn’t left searching for evidence of mal-intent if their actions go too far or trying to find metrics that help you find a new job.

“Document everything. I cannot stress this enough. Document incidents and keep accurate records of your wins, accomplishments and metrics. Documentation, documentation, documentation,” she says.

They Stop Communicating with You

When’s the last time your boss initiated a one-on-one meeting with you? Have they gone ghost quiet for a while? According to Yonemoto, this silence could be a sign that your boss isn’t interested in helping you grow. “They should be invested in your growth, which would help them and the company grow, too,” she says.

Regular meetings allow you to share your progress on projects and give them the opportunity to provide feedback to help you succeed. When these opportunities are not presented or you’re not hearing back from your boss, it can cause unclear expectations, which in turn could have a negative impact on how you’re perceived if your work product doesn’t align with what your boss had envisioned.

They Stop Including You or Start Singling You Out

If you’ve been left out of one too many meetings that you know your perspective would be valuable in and have started to feel unwelcome within your own team, you may be concerned — and you’re right to feel that way.

“The isolation piece is especially damaging because it cuts you off from the informal learning, insights and relationship-building that’s crucial for advancement. When you don’t have regular interaction with your boss and colleagues, you become a ghost within the organization and lose visibility,” Yonemoto says. “So if you feel like your professional life is stagnating, trust that feeling. The gut feeling is usually accurate.”

This can become even more of an issue when your boss goes out of their way to damage your reputation in front of others.

“Mental warfare could come into play when they weaponize your mistakes by using them against you in front of colleagues or other departments, or they engage in bad-mouthing or gaslighting behaviors that make you question your competence and reality,” she says.

You’re Overburdened with “Busy” Projects

When you start getting handed a bunch of projects that are time-consuming but don’t really contribute to the higher goals of your department, it could indicate one of two things: your boss doesn’t trust you to work on the bigger projects, or they don’t want you to have anything impressive to show. Either way, by not giving you meaningful work, they are holding you back from true career success.

“Every company today is looking for that 10x employee or grooming talent to be one,” Yonemoto says. “If you’re not getting stretch assignments, that’s a bad sign. Your role should be driving results for the company while developing your skills.”

You Haven’t Received a Promotion

This one may feel obvious, but sometimes it isn’t—sometimes you work hard for a long time and overlook the fact that you haven’t received a promotion or raise since you started, even though others around you are moving up.

“When was the last time you received a cost-of-living adjustment, raise or promotion that reflects your market value? Did you already make a strong case for advancement? If you’ve been at your job for a while and this is happening when you’ve created strong value, it may be time to make some tough decisions,” Yonemoto says.

What to Do When Your Boss Is Inhibiting Your Career Growth

So, the signs are there, and you know your growth is being stunted by your boss. It’s time to take action for yourself. Here’s what to do if your boss is holding you back.

Seek to Understand

According to Yonemoto, the best way to first approach the situation is by seeking to understand and engaging in a conversation with your boss. “Was there a misunderstanding? Could something be addressed to improve the situation? You want to approach this with a humble, open attitude to improve your working relationship,” she says.

To do this, request an in-person one-on-one meeting and make sure it is in a space where no one else is present. This way, you are both able to be fully transparent with each other.

“At some point, they invested in you to begin with by hiring you, so there may be hope for salvaging this relationship,” she says. “Communication is a two-way street, so you also have a personal obligation to try to repair the relationship if possible.”

Talking to another coworker about your experiences can also shed light on the situation. “Get a third-party perspective from a coworker you trust,” Yonemoto says. “Sometimes we need an outside view to see the situation clearly. Are they also experiencing this? What do they think of the situation?” 

Keep it to one coworker that you know you can trust; you do not want to come across as gossipy, and you definitely don’t want the conversation to get back to your superior. 

On this note, it’s important to maintain other relationships within your team and try your best not to let your boss diminish those relationships. 

“Keep your professional relationships warm both inside and outside your immediate team,” she says. “Maintain connections with peers, other department heads and former colleagues who can provide references, market insight or future opportunities. Don’t let a bad boss isolate you from your broader professional network.”

Create a Backup Plan

When it starts to become obvious that your boss is keeping you stagnant, it becomes all the more important to solidify your backup plan so you’re not left stranded without a job or at least a route to get to one.

“Make sure you have your emergency fund set up. If you don’t have one, start building one. Ideally, you would have closer to six months and up to a year’s worth of emergency funds saved up in a high-yield savings account. This gives you options and reduces the pressure to stay in a bad situation or jump into a less-than-ideal new role out of desperation,” says Yonemoto.

On top of an emergency fund, she notes that you should always keep your resume and LinkedIn up to date and know the value you bring to the job market.

“Start actively looking when you have two or more warning signs consistently happening. Don’t wait until the situation becomes unbearable,” she says. “Your ability to negotiate as a candidate is highest when you already have a job. Today’s job market is especially challenging, and employers are extending the interview to fill time.” 

She says you can also ask for a transfer within your company, if it is large enough for it to be appropriate to do so. 

“At the end of the day, trust your gut,” says Yonemoto. “If you’re worried about your boss retaliating against you for having conversations about growth, asking for feedback or advocating for yourself, that’s often a sign the relationship is beyond repair. Your instincts are usually telling you something important.”

Photo by YURII MASLAK/Shutterstock

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