“I work for a charitable organisation and my boss has been overseeing our team for around 18 months. My problem is I don’t trust him at all, and I’ve caught him lying to my colleagues and his boss a few times. I’ve also realised he’s pretty incompetent and messes projects up all the time by either missing the deadline, writing reports that are full of errors or misleading our fundraisers. Our culture is very easygoing and he’s good at smoothing over problems. What should I do?”

If your boss is as incompetent as you say, your instinct might be to report him to his own boss. That is a risky move. Complaining about a manager to a more senior leader can be seen as disloyalty and even jealousy. You may make them look foolish if they have been lied to by this man. You would also be expected to provide irrefutable evidence for each of your accusations and I am not sure how easy that would be.

My main worry is that you simply dislike your boss and are over-eager to criticise him. Personality clashes between a manager and a direct report are not uncommon but are definitely not valid grounds for stirring up negativity about someone’s professional reputation. You need to be 100% confident that your critique is fair and objective.

You say your organisation is easygoing but it surprises me that more senior people have not noticed some of the failings you cite. Your manager might get away with dishonesty and subsequent cover-ups through his smooth manner, but missing important deadlines and messing up projects feel like pretty public oversights. For all you know, your boss is already under the scrutiny of his bosses. If that were the case, it would be inappropriate for you to make any move: most bosses like to deal with this sort of matter in private and would not thank anyone for unsolicited input. When a more junior person lists the failings of a senior player it makes the leadership team look weak as they are ultimately responsible for any negligence. 

It might be wisest for you to remain silent for now but stay alert as to how other people respond to your manager. It’s important to discover if you are the only person to harbour these views or if others share them. If you were going to take significant action down the line, it would be crucial for bosses to know that your views are widespread across a range of colleagues. On the other hand, if your boss is popular and seen as competent, you would find yourself in an unpopular minority. You don’t want any conversation to look like one woman’s vendetta against her boss.

It is a good idea to start taking dated and detailed notes about significant mistakes that you witness from now on. A journal of evidence would be crucial if you decide to talk to someone about your concerns. Rather than going to your manager’s boss, try a senior person in your HR team first. This way you’re not only behaving responsibly and respectfully but also passing the problem over to someone who is empowered to take further action.  

However, if you have concrete examples to support your point of view, your worries about your boss are justified. But think carefully about the consequences of any move you are considering. Evidence and support from other colleagues are key to ensuring that you’re not victimised for your courage and that you get a fair hearing.

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