In their January/February issue, Details Magazine has a provocative article on how to break up with a boss who’s holding you back.  The article tells the story of Michael Rogers:

“Michael Rogers had lunch or cocktails a couple of times a week with the CEO of the New York public-relations firm where he worked. They’d split a plate of french fries or a carafe of sake and his boss would give him advice about how to be a better manager. Rogers, 30, had started at the firm as an account supervisor a couple of years earlier and had since been promoted to senior vice president.

Soon, though, Rogers had the itch to abandon his role as protégé and seek new challenges. Unsure of how to break up with the man who’d recently toasted him after they signed a new client together, Rogers went with a white lie. He told his boss he was overworked and stressed out and wanted to head to Los Angeles to regroup. The CEO hugged him and wished him luck.  About a month later, after he announced the opening of his own firm, Rogers got an e-mail from his old boss’s assistant. It was a succinct message reminding him that he’d signed a non-compete clause and the firm would file a lawsuit against him if he poached any of its clients or staff.”

The article offers some good tips for distancing yourself from a mentor who is becoming a liability, such as tapering off interactions gradually and handling the process as delicately as you possibly can.  It’s decent advice, and that’s why I’m surprised that the writer would lead with Rogers, who obviously didn’t go about this the right way.

It sounds as if Rogers’ CEO went out of his way to provide guidance and rapid career advancement to a promising subordinate.  This generous man was owed gratitude and honesty, not this sneakiness.  Don’t get me wrong.  If Rogers wanted to start his own firm, more power to him, but he should have been upfront with his boss about it.  For those of us who believe in karma, this is the kind of thing that comes back to bite you.