Negative feedback from boss: Am I being over-sensitive

[Floxglove11]

I have been in my current role for the last 3 years and have worked for the same company for longer than that. My new boss was appointed mid last year and everything was great at the beginning but in the last 4 months there has been a change in atmosphere which started in our 1 to 1s and has now progressed to criticism in meetings with my peers and direct reports. As you can imagine it has had a real impact on my team who are increasingly de-motivated and has undermined my credibility. I work remotely and most of the team and my boss. I have asked for feedback, which is that they are unsure what benefit my team brings although runs hot and cold in our interactions. It’s a challenging technical area. I have articulated the strategy, benefits, and communicated progress vs plan but it doesn’t seem to be landing. I have never had this problem before and have always been a strong and consistent performer. I am not on a PIP (not that I know of) but am becoming more unsettled. I need my job - we can’t survive without it.

I work in an in-demand area and get approached by recruiters. I had always declined to follow-up as I liked my company, current job and the benefits (bonus and stock options) were good. I feel I need to start looking elsewhere as I hate this panicked feeling. Am I being over-sensitive, should I stick it out based on the benefits which I would lose if I left and see what happens in the next year?

It is impossible to say if you are being over sensitive to criticism in meetings etc without knowing what was said or how it was said.

But being directly told by your boss that they are not sure what benefit your ten brings, really doesn’t bode very well at all. I don’t think I would be hanging round for a year after being told that. I think you need to revisit that discussion and if your boss is still not sure, yes I would be polishing my cv.

*team not ten

I would look now. Your boss is ruining your team, undermining your role and unless that is improved will damage your reputation. I would talk to the recruiters.

It might be over reacting or it might be your gut telling you that something is amiss. I wouldn’t chance it waiting for clarification, if there are other interested parties it’s time to start checking them out. Remember you don’t have to jump ship just yet, do your research and have an exit door open.

Constructive feedback based on facts is to be expected but it sounds like your new boss is trying to undermine you and your team by making negative comments.

I would ask for a meeting with them, state that you have notice a sudden increase in negative feedback and that you would like them to clearly state to you and to your team whether objectives/targets and expectations have been changed so that you can all be on the same page and have something to measure how well you are doing.

I woke up one morning this week to find i have a new friend on snapchat, an AI one, whom i can't delete even if i want to. Creepy 😱

I'm so sorry, wrong thread 🙈😳

We ended up in almost this exact position during the pandemic and our whole team was made redundant - a good thing as the relationship with the manager in question completely broke down. I would interpret it as someone deciding that you/your team are surplus to requirements and I'd be looking for a new job sharpish.