WWYD - resigned and boss being a twat

[PutItOnMyTab]

I have changed my name for this. I resigned in August but have a 6 months notice period and the owners and CEO made it clear that a) I would hire my replacement and b) I would work every day of my notice period (as is their right to demand this). I am a senior exec.

CEO said he was devastated but I had told him I wasn't happy in the job previously so I had forewarned him but I think he thought he had sorted out the issues when he hadn't.

CEO is one of those people who only tells you what you want to hear. He is untrustworthy and you never know the truth in what he says. But in the meantime, he is still having regular conversations with me to thank me for working my notice and doing the big 'we couldn't do without you' to me.

One of the other senior execs called me today to tell me that behind my back, he is saying 'we never needed her anyway' and 'things were going wrong with her beforehand' and implying that he was on the verge of letting me go anyway. I am not surprised by this but I find myself somewhat furious. I feel that he shouldn't be bad mouthing me behind my back and tbh, if that's what he is doing, then they can fuck their notice period and I'll piss off. It's also fundamentally untrue which funnily enough, the senior exec who told me acknowledged.

The sensible person would just quietly quit now but there is a part of me that really wants to have it out with the CEO but it means I'm betraying the trust of the person who told me (who explicitly said pls don't raise this as an issue). WWYD - shall I just let it lie and stop working as hard? There are 2 big projects I need to deliver in the next few months and it will be obvious if I stop working as much! I also do not want him bad mouthing me to people who won't know better - which I suspect he is. I'm in a small industry and it could be quite damaging.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Your reputation in the industry is more important than giving twatface CEO more ammunition to slag you off behind your back. Grit your teeth, rise above, etc etc. He's really not worth it.

I would write to the ceo saying something about always receiving positive feedback from him and that you are disappointed to hear he has been describing your work negatively to colleagues. I hope this is a misunderstanding and we can part positively. Say you’re happy to discuss or look at options for leaving earlier if that would work better for him.

Basically, call him out.

I’m angry on your behalf - I’ve had similar and it’s been career damaging.

Do you have a new job lined up?

I would absolutely reign in the time and effort I was putting in. Obviously do your hours but refuse to make any decisions which impact projects beyond your resignation date.

Boss sounds immature and I'm guessing was venting to your colleague?

yes thank god I have new job lined up! I am worried about the career damage. I imagine he was venting to colleague but I don't know. Said colleague is under performing and him and the CEO often don't see eye to eye so it's an odd thing for the CEO to say to him. Can't see the motivation for it other than being a twat.

You'll need a reference I'm sure so just be careful. The colleague clearly knows he is an arsehole anyway, so will everyone else! Leave with your head held high, they can do you for breech of contract so do the work well and let them regret not doing what was requested to be done before you resigned

He is most likely just venting his wounded pride and doesn't believe what he's saying. It's a dickhead thing to do, but unless you think he's slagging you more widely than internally/this dude, I'd stuff what you know down the memory hole and finish out your notice in a way you feel good about and preserves your reputation internally and externally, while not going out of your way if you don't feel inclined to.

Maybe just ensure a paper trail eg email saying It was gratifying to hear your positive feedback. Just to confirm in response to your saying you couldn’t do it without me, I will be working my notice and will do what I can to ensure a smooth transition including recruiting my replacement as asked.

You may or may not elicit a confirmatory response but you’ll have it in writing what he has said, your cooperation and the fact they wanted you to recruit which would contradict any suggestion they doubted your judgment or competence. Try and get your other colleague to email you praising your record and confirming you will be a loss to the company. Have your dossier ready 😆 Don’t forget to copy all of your appraisals, project outcomes/feedback etc

People can be arseholes.

the problem is I don't know what he is doing - and he's one of those CEOs who believes he's very well connected and is constantly horse trading information he hears from other people. So I wouldn't put it past him speaking to others just to make himself look better. But it's a dick move - the new place I'm going, even though I know they've had problems with the person leaving, they have been doing nothing but praising him and I have a lot more respect for people who behave that way!

thanks, I have made a cup of tea and calmed down a bit now. I think I will contact new place - they wanted to have a lunch with me and I haven't put it in the diary and I might try and mention this issue to get ahead of him saying anything to them or to cover it off if he has done fgs!

there's still a lot of time between now and starting new job - last thing I want is them changing their minds because of something he says to them

I'm more curious about the tale-teller. Why do you think they told you this? Could they be trying to cause trouble? Giving you the bullets? What if it wasn't true? No wonder they asked you not to raise it, because the ceo would know they'd lied.

I wouldn't bother with this and there's the risk of outing the person who told OP.

The way I see it OP already knows he is a two faced idiot and I'm sure other people at the company knows as well so no point trying to have it out with him. It will probably just lead to a messy ending which you don't need.

@PutItOnMyTab focus on your future and next steps and if that requires you to complete your notice period so it with your head held high and move on.

I can assure you most people will roll their eyes when he says they don't need you anyway, well except the typical corporate ass lickers who are desperate for his favour and attention.

They may be trying to stir trouble but I'm not surprised they don't want the CEO to know, they still work there so they are worried about his reaction and retaliation.

I think what you need is legal advice.

I am puzzled. Your first note was that you have to hire your replacement? I don't understand this. Does this mean you have to do the physical task of hiring a person or just training them?

Hiring. Putting it out to recruiters and interviewing candidates.

I’d send something like that email someone suggested. So if you do hear of something bad he’s said, you can calmly say interesting, he had me interview and hire my replacement, you wouldn’t ask that if you didn’t have much confidence in my professional capability.

my first boss out of college knew one of my professors. She told me he said basically that I wasn’t that smart. It was perfect that I could say calmly ‘really? Odd he doesn’t seem aware that I’m one of only two people in that class of his that graduated with first class honours.’

You don't say how long you have worked in your organisation, however surely you know the character of this CEO?

If he's said it about you either he believes it to be true about you, or he's said it previously about other people and therefore you would have been expecting it.

If its his typical comment, people know he does that and he will have already devalued the validity of any comments he makes so who cares.

Assuming you’ve got a fair chunk of your notice period left, just make it very common knowledge that you’re leaving in several months time.

Senior non performers don’t get held to long notice period when they’re let go and anyone with any sense knows that.

This. Don't cover up you're leaving, speed up the hire process and you'll be chilling on garden leave before you know it.