@Caterina M it's just really important to be an ally, which is what you're doing providing visibility is so important as well as a leader. I would always take an absorb all of the blame for my folks but pass all the praise. Of course you provide feedback on things that weren't done the way they need to be, but you always take the blame for your people and never blame those who work for you.

@Christina Tkalec very true the bad bosses simply step out of the way and let it hit them straight on...

@Lee Powers the ultimate double edged sword...glad it was not the force that caused an immovable wedge! Thanks for sharing

@Caterina M this is the post I hoped someone would write, and I'm sorry you had to live it first. You named something most of us feel and never say. There's a difference between being judged on your work and being judged on how comfortable you make your manager. Your clients graded the first one. Your manager graded the second. I've had my own version. A review that didn't match the work. For months afterwards I second-guessed emails I'd have sent without a thought a year earlier. That's the cost nobody warns you about. The review ends. The doubt stays. Two questions for you, Caterina. Are you still under that manager, or out? And what, if anything, helped you stop doubting yourself? For everyone else, finish this sentence in the comments. One line is enough. "The moment I realised I was being judged on fitting in, not on my work, was when..."