Member-only story
How to Stick Up for Yourself When a Peer Bosses You Around
When egos come into play, it’s important to tread lightly
Jessica Powell, the former Google vice president who wrote The Big Disruption and told you how to quit your job, is here to answer your common but tricky work questions. Check back every other week for more management advice with a tech inflection.
I have a new colleague who’s about equal to me on the org chart. We report to the same manager, but he seems to think he’s senior to me. He has been trying to assign me tasks, which he doesn’t have the authority to do, and generally speaks to me as if I’m junior to him. How do I assert my seniority without making an enemy of a new colleague?
What an annoying person. But before we get into attacking him and devising your workplace warfare strategy, it’s probably worth taking two seconds to reflect on why he is behaving like that.
When I’ve seen behavior like this from a new employee, it’s usually because they are insecure about their position in the company. For example, large tech companies often hire people who had big jobs — like captains of industry or government officials — and then make them work as B2B marketing managers.
