“One of my more junior colleagues never pulls her weight and consistently completes her work to a low standard, but my boss doesn’t seem to notice. I’m not quite at a middle management level, but I have some seniority within the team. This person doesn’t report to me, but I am expected to assist her when she needs it, and I find myself heavily editing and sometimes doing her work for her, especially when we’re in a time crunch. Is it really my place to make my boss aware or do I have to hope her true colours shine through soon enough?”

I am wondering if your junior colleague is actually incompetent or merely misguided. I’d like to think it’s possible that she may improve with some training and mentoring from the likes of your good self. From how your boss is behaving, I am guessing that they see some qualities in her that you could be missing. As it’s part of your role to help this flailing rookie, you should think about adopting a more positive attitude towards her. Instead of editing or doing her work on her behalf, try including her in your process so she can learn from your experience. This way you can discover the extent of her ability – or the lack thereof.

You are not quite at mid-management level but have earned seniority status in your team. Your quandary is an opportunity for you to show you have leadership skills. You just need to switch your negativity and start taking this junior under your wing. With the right help and guidance from you, she could really improve at her job. Your boss may be sitting back deliberately in order to discover if you are management material.

Bosses are always on the alert for colleagues with natural leadership ability. The strongest signal that someone has instinctive managerial qualities is when that person takes time away from their responsibilities to nurture and inspire less experienced colleagues. Your current attitude towards your junior colleague suggests that you are a one-woman band rather than a team player. And that could eliminate you from your boss’s future promotion planning.

To be honest, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by becoming a bit more motivational. In spite of your negativity up to now, you may discover that there is sheer pleasure to be gained when helping a younger colleague develop. Believe it or not, you will learn as much about yourself and your ability as they do in this process. You will either discover that management is something you’re naturally good at or that you prefer to forge your own path as an individual contributor. Either way, this experiment will help you and your boss decide on your future direction.

If you follow my advice and still despair of your junior’s ability, don’t fret. Mentoring someone can sometimes result in them realising they’re simply in the wrong job. If that’s the result in this case, you will be doing yourself, your boss and your junior a favour. No one can accuse you of not trying to guide and nurture so you’ll still get the brownie points for your efforts. And if the junior realises they’re not cut out for this role, then she and the boss can decide if she moves elsewhere in the company or leaves altogether. 

On the other hand, with some inspired direction from you, this junior could flourish and become a vital player in the team. You will be the person who gets all of the credit for turning the raw recruit into a valuable talent, and that is what they call a win-win in management speak.

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