You know the saying, fake it until you make it? Why is that a thing? 

Think about the options an employee has to increase his or her earning potential. If I’m an intern, I have to become permanent. If I’m permanent, I have to become a manager. Managers have to become directors, who have to become VPs, who have to become C-level executives — all with countless notches in between. 

In other words, managers are managers often because it’s the only path to make more money. As a result, many take the job even though they aren’t suited for it. Even worse, they may be thrust into the role without proper training. They’re faking it until they make it.

Hey wait! I’ve been a content manager. A “senior” one at that. Does this apply to me?

My management story

Once upon a time, I was hired as a content writer. I worked hard, got better, and eventually was offered more money to be a content manager. 

Cool. Except … I wasn’t asked to manage anybody or anything. 

There was gratuitous talk of greater responsibility, but for all intents and purposes, I was back to writing email campaigns (basically spam) in no time. Maybe it’s hard to gain the respect that should come with a new title when your coworkers aren’t used to seeing you that way, I thought.

Several stagnant months later, I moved on to another gig. This time I started as a senior content marketing manager. I needed to ready up. I was finally about take on the legitimate responsibilities of the gig. 

Naw. 

Once again, there were no people to manage. I felt the content strategy was bland and it was out of my control. Eventually, I was jokingly referred to as the “copy vending machine.” 

I mean, that’s what you spend years at a university to achieve, right?

People without creative backgrounds and who didn’t understand the role of a content manager beyond “make words” had final approval. The title should have given me some say, shouldn’t it? Nope. I only wrote first drafts and checked spelling and grammar on final versions.

I remember one knock-down, drag-out “theming” meeting that lasted about an hour too long. Other managers were yelling at each other about creative direction. The visual designer and I had long since been cut out of the conversation. We were like children listening to parents argue. He and I left that meeting with very little confidence in how to proceed. After clearing our heads and getting into our zone, we made some progress that we thought had a chance of success. Next check-in, it all got torn up in favor of another manager’s whims.

It was anarchy and it sapped my energy.

Several months later, I was solicited for yet another content management position at yet another company. This time I was told I would be creating a content program from the ground-up. It was the lifeline I needed. This would be different.

Well … 

Executives rejiggered the plan every week. The marketing director who’d recruited me and gained my trust was replaced within two months. Product managers and sales leaders began to intervene. Vague orders came at us from every direction every day. Managers regularly undercut each other in side conversations. I was put back on spam email duty. 

Every Sunday night I had to fight back a sinking feeling in my stomach in anticipation of the week to come. Mercifully, that job ran its course.

I rebounded again. Another place offered the responsibility I so desperately sought. However, instead of implementing my content plan — a plan I’d developed on the side through years of frustration but was always put off by managers for “later” — I was relegated to writing social posts. I was answering to non-creatives again. When that business came to an end, I was actually kind of relieved.

Are you happy? 

Consider this:

• Fifty-eight percent of managers say they didn’t receive any management training
• Eighty-nine percent of bosses believe employees quit because they want more money, but only 12 percent of employees actually leave an organization for more money
• Fifty-eight percent of people say they trust strangers more than their own boss
• Fifty-three percent of Americans are currently unhappy at work

Meanwhile, I feel like a chef hired to set the menu but instead peels the potatoes. 

And. It. Keeps. Happening.

I often wonder if I need to be more aggressive at work, impose my will. But I don’t want to overstep or come off as arrogant. I’ve expressed this dilemma directly to my managers, and I never get a straight answer because they aren’t sure themselves. 

Look, I’m not a victim here. I’m not saying I’m helpless or without fault. I want to be better. Desperately. What does that look like? I’d take a situation where I can make decisions. And if those decisions end up being mistakes, it’d be great to have the leeway to learn from them and get better. 

So I beg you, dear reader: give your direct reports, your coworkers, and your bosses the rope they need to experiment and fail without fear of reprimand. I think we’ll all be better for it.

A great manager of mine once told me, “Make me pull you back.” In other words, “Create the best work you can, and I’ll let you know when you’ve gone too far, and we’ll adjust.” I’ve come back to this advice time and again when tempted to placate rather than deliver my best work. It’s the best professional advice I’ve ever received and a guiding light. (Thanks, Marylou.)

Now let’s cut the bullshit and stop faking it.

P.S. I’ve met several remarkable coworkers along the way. High-character people. You are the ones who make a difference. Thank you. 

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