The Agony of the Middle Manager
Three new books reveal the moral complexities of being the boss.
Nothing erodes your soul quite like a bad boss. Even if you see through their ruse, even if you feel confident in your diagnosis of raging insecurity or narcissistic personality disorder, you can’t escape the fact that this person has power over you. Your boss controls most of your waking hours, your means of securing food and shelter, and your future at the company. And, unless you’re extremely strong-willed, probably the way you feel about yourself.
But what if the boss is a good person limited by a dysfunctional system? Three terrific new books by women who have sat in the boss’s chair provide a fascinating look at the psychological complexities of climbing the career ladder—Ambition Monster by Jennifer Romolini, Exit Interview by Kristi Coulter and The Myth of Making It by Samhita Mukhopadhyay.
All three authors are unapologetically ambitious women, and their perspectives are a refreshing contrast to the prairie-…