Red flags that your new boss is a twat

I was reorg’d under a creative director (CD) managing a large team of designers though I had previously been an individual contributor answering directly to my VP of Product. Now I’d be answering to this CD and his micro-managing lead instead, and I had serious trepidations about having two new layers of interference between me and my product owner.

The first meeting with the CD told me everything I needed to know about my future there.

The three of us were getting to know each other in the CD’s office. At some point he asked me about the tools I used and when I mentioned Photoshop he said:

Agh! Photoshop! I hope I never see that thing again!”

This was an instant red flag, but I was so appalled in the moment that I wasn’t immediately sure how to respond, and the conversation moved on.

My former boss had agreed to me being reassigned under this CD on the condition that I’d still be available as a dedicated resource to that product some percentage of time. It was a big site, I had designed it, I had institutional knowledge, and could work faster than someone just coming in fresh.

“I can tell you right now, that’s not going to happen,” said the CD. I was floored, but I have a pretty good poker face.

Second and third red flags. This guy had just admitted that he had lied to my former VP, and was stupid enough to admit it to me, assuming I’d be more loyal to him than to my former VP.

My former boss had also told the CD that I had 10-plus years of art director-level experience and shouldn’t just be shoved in with the junior designers, that I should be given more responsibility and trust based on my background.

Instead, it was explained to me that I’d be managed by this middle manager who had essentially the same experience as me.

Don’t even get me started about that guy. At some point he said he wanted to come to my desk and observe my work over my shoulder. “Uh, no,” I said, “You’re not going to do that.”

Anyway, I left the meeting with the CD knowing I would start looking for other jobs. This was not going to last.

I was frustrated and disappointed, knowing the job I really loved had turned into a nightmare. I got in the elevator and a VP of a completely different product got in and offhandedly asked me how it was going. In a moment of complete candor I answered, “Well, to be honest, Martin, pretty lousy.” He looked at me with a slightly startled look, like he didn’t expect someone to actually answer his greeting with a truly honest answer, and said, “I’m really sorry to hear that.” That chance encounter in the elevator would lead to a whole new path, but that’s another story.

What I learned from this creative director

Learning from other people’s mistakes is a fundamental skill that many people never learn. I’m fortunate that I’ve had many aha moments in my life where I realized mistakes I’d made or others had made, and said “I’m not doing this again.”

I can thank this creative director for showing me how not to be a manager or director in the creative field.

1) The “I hope I never see Photoshop again“ statement

Bear in mind this episode far predates the present, where we have great prototyping tools better suited to web design than Photoshop. Back then, Photoshop was still the go-to tool for all online design. This creative director was saying “I hate Photoshop” but also saying “I hate using the primary tools of design — the same ones you use every day to do your job.”

This CD was content to sit behind his big desk surrounded by all his corporate baubles and just “think strategically” ahem — tell people what to do. Fine, whatevs. But how could he know the day-to-day challenges his designers face if he doesn’t actually do any of the work they do?

I vowed right then I’d never be the type of manager who doesn’t also still practice design. If I’m not in the trenches designing alongside my colleagues, I’ll be as out of touch with their needs and challenges as this twat was as he insulted me with his derision for my toolset.

2) Invest trust in people

I hire people to positions knowing they are on a journey. I need them to have certain experience yet I also know they are going to learn new things as they go.

If someone comes to me with more experience, I trust them to take more responsibility. And regardless of their résumé, I’ll always give them opportunity to take on even more, because I trust people to learn and grow.

This CD didn’t trust me despite my experience, my résumé, or even the insistence of a company VP. Instead he put me under someone at my same level, and gave me less responsibility than I’d had before. You don’t keep talent that way.

Every good manager gives their people room to grow.

3) Everything else

I don’t know what’s more egregious or stupid: The lying and manipulation, the bald-faced admission of it to me, or the stupidity of assuming I wouldn’t go tell my former boss. It just goes to show how much lack of human understanding and foresight this one person had.

I knew I didn’t want to work with someone like this, let alone under them, and it’s a lesson I’ve taken with me to every position since. Don’t be that guy, and be wary if you meet that guy doing interviews for a new gig.