A TikTok from creator @agrittygirl, which received more than 158,000 views and nearly 23,000 comments, describes her experience working with a manager she says tried to limit her professional growth. She said she was particularly frustrated because she had been hired to help and support him.
The creator said she became concerned about her manager’s behavior after he repeatedly excluded her from key projects. She also said he kept her out of meetings involving projects and topics she was working on.
According to @agrittygirl, the exclusions limited her access to information and opportunities to demonstrate her abilities. She also said she was not surprised by her manager’s behavior because, in her account, he had been promoted to the position despite having little experience in the field.
She said her role was to support him and handle work behind the scenes. During meetings, however, stakeholders would sometimes ask him questions about projects that he could not answer. She said she would then provide the answers, which she believed contributed to tension between them.
Her Manager Eventually Gave Her a Chance to Lead a Project
After gaining more experience in the role, @agrittygirl said she asked her manager about a promotion. She presented the skills and knowledge she had developed while working there and asked what she needed to do to advance.
She said her manager acknowledged that she was doing well but did not immediately offer her a promotion. When she asked what skills she needed to improve, she said he told her to approach him again in four weeks.
Four weeks later, she followed up with him. She said he eventually allowed her to work on a project but instructed her not to speak during meetings.
The situation changed the night before the project’s launch, which was scheduled to be presented to the company’s CEO. According to @agrittygirl, her manager asked her to prepare the presentation slides and then told her she would be responsible for presenting them and handling the launch.
Despite having little notice, she said she prepared the slides. When she arrived at the office on the day of the presentation, she began setting up the projector.
But when her manager arrived, she said he opened his laptop and began presenting his own slides. She had expected to handle the presentation based on their previous conversation.
After her manager finished presenting, @agrittygirl said she asked him several questions about the project that he could not answer. She said he eventually directed the questions to her, giving her an opportunity to explain her knowledge of the project.
She said the CEO was impressed by her responses and advised her and her manager to collaborate on the project.
The story prompted other TikTok users to share their reactions. One commenter congratulated her, writing, “He tried to set you up and he did. For success.”
Another commenter warned her that managers may retaliate against employees they see as a threat. They wrote, “Doing this can either go two ways, in your favour or it’s a career limiting move, because most managers like that will make it their life’s mission to destroy you and manage you out.”
The TikTok does not independently establish the manager’s motivations or whether he intentionally attempted to limit @agrittygirl’s career growth. The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the claims made in the video, which are based on the creator’s account of her workplace experience.
