Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career

Negotiate the Ground Rules with Your Boss

A mismatch of expectations easily occurs between the boss and the interim. You will probably view the interim position as a key opportunity for career advancement. It is a great opportunity to get valuable experience in working with the strategists—the first team players. It will test your ability at a new level. You might even hold an expectation that this is the opportunity to excel, which may make this role permanent.

For your boss however, the agenda is likely to be quite different. She is still looking for the first team player to recruit. It is understandable if she views you as someone who can keep the existing strategy on track until the permanent appointment is made. She is expecting a “safe pair of hands,” someone to focus on day-to-day maintenance, not someone who wants to make the role their own.

It is natural for the boss and peer group to resist some of the longer-term, strategic decisions that you propose. They will be concerned that the time line for the task will extend beyond your occupancy of the role. Commitment and motivation is likely to suffer because you may not be around to face the consequences should the plan go wrong.

And there is probably concern over the likelihood of the strategy being undone by the permanent appointment—meaning resources will be wasted and rework required. It is easy to see how, as an interim, you will get more push back and resistance to your ideas, decisions, and strategies than others. ...