Podcast Summary: Manager Tools – "My Boss Doesn't Support Company Guidance"

Date: December 8, 2025
Hosts: Sarah & Mark

Episode Overview

This episode tackles a challenging management scenario: what to do when your boss doesn't support or actively contradicts the company’s official guidance or priorities. Mark and Sarah delve into the ethical, professional, and practical implications of this situation, and provide listeners with concrete steps for staying aligned with the organization—even if that puts them at odds with their direct manager. The conversation is rooted in actionable advice and the realities of organizational life, delivered in Manager Tools’ signature direct, practical style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding Role Power and Professional Subordination

• Managerial Responsibility: Mark explains that “role power allows the manager to speak for the organization” (01:14). As managers, the authority to communicate and enforce company guidance comes directly from delegations by higher leadership.
• Betrayal of Trust: When a boss fails to support the company, “your boss has broken trust with the organization itself” (06:34).

2. Ethics of Supporting the Organization Over Your Boss

• Supporting a boss against company guidance is “basically unethical. It’s not comfortable for you…” (01:52).
• The instinct to “support your boss out of self interest” is natural, but “supporting your boss when he's out of step with the organization is wrong” (03:40). The higher commitment is to the organization, not just your immediate boss.

3. What To Do When You Notice a Disconnect

• Initial Assumptions: If you aren’t sure of the company's guidance, assume your boss is acting in line with expectations “99% of the time” (08:25). If you later discover a real conflict, action is needed.
• Fact-Finding: Discreetly check with peers to determine if your experience is unique – e.g., “talk to your peers, who also report to your boss… without mentioning that you’re working on Bravo” (09:07).
• Confronting Privately: If there is a genuine disconnect, address it privately and non-confrontationally with your boss. Sarah emphasizes, “We did not mean we want you to create a confrontation in some sort of dramatic way with your boss” (11:31).

4. How To Have the Conversation

• Mark provides a sample script (12:08), emphasizing (1) clarity, (2) evidence, (3) risk to the team and boss, and (4) ending with “Am I missing something?” to keep the tone curious rather than accusatory.
  • Notable quote:

    "If I do what Division wants, I’m going to be crossways with you. I think this also puts you at risk if someone from Division asks for updates. You’ll look bad when I have to tell them that we’re not doing Alpha. I can’t lie about it and I definitely won’t ask my team to lie about it. Am I missing something?" – Mark (12:14)

5. Escalation and Seeking Support

• If private discussion fails, seek a mentor or trusted senior leader before going “open door” (16:11).
• There's risk in escalation; “doing the right thing isn’t always rewarded. But…doing the right thing is always its own reward” (21:57).
• Mark encourages readiness for professional fallout:

  “This is why we encourage you to live small financially at home, keep your internal and external networks warm, and be ready…” (18:22).

6. If Your Boss Retaliates

• The process may “ruin your relationship with your boss,” but ethical integrity outweighs short-term self-preservation (21:57).
• Be aware: If loyalty to your boss means disobeying the company, you risk termination with cause (23:34).

7. Never Publicly Disagree

• “Do not publicly disagree with your boss or call out in a public forum the dilemma that his decisions have created” (24:04).
• The goal is not grandstanding, but “to get your boss to realign behind the organization” quietly and constructively.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Role Power & Ethics:
  “If your boss disagrees with the company, he is not speaking for the firm…your obligation to support the company does not change.” – Mark (05:23)

• Loyalty’s Limits:
  “If you break trust with your organization, you are obligated to leave your organization. It’s just that easy. You can’t work against them and still be paid by them…” – Sarah (07:00)

• Pragmatic Wisdom:
  “Communicating about virtually all truly ethical dilemmas is risky, and we’re still obligated to undertake the communication.” – Mark (17:03)

• Ethical Musculature:
  “Be careful about what that does to your ethical musculature. It will soften it and you may make a mistake later that you’ll regret for a long time.” – Mark (19:34)

• On Results vs. Integrity:
  "People are always wanting to know, where do I sit? How much do I get? When’s lunch? When can I quit?… Actually, we should focus on doing the thing and doing it ethically." – Mark (22:20)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:09] – Introduction to role power and ethical implications
• [02:16] – Episode outline: ethical dilemma, necessary choices, avoiding public disagreement
• [05:11] – Speaking for the organization when your boss is misaligned
• [06:55] – Foundation of organizational trust and the role of managers
• [08:20] – Determining if your boss is out of alignment
• [11:31] – How to confront your boss privately, with scripting
• [16:11] – Escalating to a mentor or senior leader
• [18:22] – Risks, career advice, and ethical incentives
• [21:57] – Integrity as a reward and realism about workplace fairness
• [24:04] – Why public disagreement is counterproductive
• [25:27] – Episode summary

Conclusion

Mark and Sarah provide listeners with a principled, practical approach for navigating a fraught ethical dilemma: when your boss is at odds with your company’s leadership. The key takeaways are to always prioritize your responsibility to the organization over personal or self-preservation interests, approach conflicts with discretion and professionalism, and be prepared for potential fallout, knowing that doing the right thing isn’t always fair or easy—but it’s always essential.

This summary omits advertisements, episode intro, and closing pleasantries to focus solely on the substantive content.