Little background here. I work for a large organization that everyone here has heard of and likely have some of our products in your home. I’ve been in my current role for 3 years or so. First year and a half to two years was amazing. My boss was great, the job was fulfilling… I was incredibly happy. My old boss tells me he’s leaving. Wishes me the best and his position is opened. I was initially going to apply, but was told I would need to relocate to HQ across the country. For personal reasons I had zero interest in that, so I never applied. Takes 6 months or so but they finally hire my boss’ replacement. On paper she looks amazing. Tons of experience, certifications, etc… naturally I was initially pretty excited to work with this person. It was an opportunity to learn. When we first meet she asks me to have a candid conversation with her about what’s going on with the program and some areas where we can improve. Of course my dumbass thought she was sincere and gave her some examples of things that could be brought up to industry standards. Next day one of my direct reports calls me up and states that my boss spent over an hour bashing me to her and asking if I was “always so negative.” So lesson learned… move forward. I had a planned paternity leave for 8 weeks coming up… and naturally I took it. Made me fill out FMLA paperwork and all of that stuff. It was nice to unplug and be with the baby for a few months. When I returned… I was informed that one of my team had walked in and quit with no notice the week before I got back. The former employee later told me it was because our new boss was “a psycho.” I also returned to a meeting scheduled for first thing in the morning. In that meeting, I was informed that the former employee could have only left because I was a poor manager, and I needed to “work on some things.” Namely that I failed to prepare my boss for success before I left on leave. She didn’t understand all the parts of the organization and I should have done a better job at explaining those parts to her… she never asked for anything, but I guess I was just supposed to know. Additionally, I was informed that I need to quit focusing on the past… it was concerning when I shared issues with her about how things had been done and it wasn’t beneficial for anyone for me to focus on the past.
So can any of you help me with the following:
How can I set my boss up for success?
And
How can I answer questions about the way things have been handled previously, without mentioning anything in the past?
Thank you all