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Man with 6 years’ experience joins startup as manager, shocked as junior ‘guides’ him rudely
A manager shared that a fresher was asked to “guide” him at a startup, leading to discomfort and online discussions on hierarchy.
An Indian professional who recently joined a startup as an operations manager has shared a troubling account on Reddit about his first days at work. In a post titled “Joined a startup, now a junior is ‘guiding’ me (rudely) — what should I do?”, he described how a fresher, recently promoted to team leader, was assigned to “guide” him despite being technically junior.
(Also read: 'Work weekends or stay late daily': Indian manager's shocking ultimatum to employees)
The manager, who claims over six years of experience, explained: “After the usual ‘act like a founder / think this is your company’ pep talk, a fresher—who was recently promoted as a TL—came up to me and started telling me where to sit, what to do, etc. I was confused and asked why he thought he could order me around since he’s technically a junior. His response? He’s been in the system for seven months, has a close relation with the Director (my reporting manager), and was asked to guide me.”
He added that the guidance was far from constructive: “The issue is, he’s super rude and condescending, not actually being helpful. It’s making me really uncomfortable.”
Role mismatch and rising concerns
The manager also alleged that the job he was hired for differed significantly from what he was asked to do. “I was hired for management/ops, but they now want me to handle customer calls ‘to understand the process’ and even learn SQL. HR and my PoC brushed it off, saying, ‘This is a growing startup; things will be different.’ I get the startup flexibility angle, but I’m not from a tech/calling background—I’m a manager, not an entry-level trainee,” he wrote.
This mismatch, coupled with the alleged rude behaviour of a junior colleague, has left him “feeling stuck and unsure if I should push back, adapt, or start looking out.”
Check out the post here:
Online reactions
The post drew a mix of advice and criticism from other users. One person commented, “Have a conversation with the director obviously, you are there to help the ‘director’ or whatever fancy title he’s given himself scale up the company by doing what needs to be done, not get micro managed by some kid.”
“I think it is better if you quit,” one user said. Another questioned the manager’s leadership skills, writing: “I would not have problem with a junior guiding me. Rudely is a different matter. As a senior and that too a Manager why are you facing issues with managing a situation with a junior? Being a TL doesn’t really matter.”
Some encouraged patience: “Wait and give it back to him when the time is right,” one person suggested, while another advised, “Start looking elsewhere. They won’t change their ways for you.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
