The modern manager is often expected to be part coach, therapist, sponsor, mentor, strategist, conflict mediator, advocate and emotional support system. That bundle of expectations is unrealistic. This is especially true in organizations where managers are overloaded or balancing the employee’s needs against the company’s priorities. When senior professionals treat their manager as the center of career support, they create a dangerous single point of failure.
This talk separates the roles people commonly collapse into “my manager,” and how other roles are critical to bring into your life for career success. One person may occasionally perform several roles, but employees should not assume they will or can do all of them.
Attendees will learn how to build a support “board of directors” instead of hoping for a unicorn manager. This talk will map the relationships needed for craft growth, organizational navigation, advocacy, emotional support, market awareness and accountability. The session also provides frameworks for making clearer requests, asking a sponsor for visible advocacy or asking a mentor for pattern recognition.
Once professionals stop demanding every form of support from one relationship, they can improve the relationship they have and intentionally build the network they need.

Talk Outline
• The impossible manager job description and identifying traits
• The risks of a single-source support system
• Importance of building a relationship board of directors for growth, advocacy and resilience
• Frameworks for getting the right help from the right person

Four Key Takeaways
• A realistic definition and understanding of the manager’s responsibilities and constraints.
• Frameworks for separating six kinds of career and personal support.
• A relationship map that reduces dependence on one manager.
• Practical language for making clearer, more appropriate requests.

Why Jen Blatz Is Qualified to Speak on This Topic
Jen Blatz is a Principal Experience Researcher with decades of experience as an IC, individual contributor. She has been let down by managers before and has learned valuable lessons that any professional can gain from Jen’s experience. Though never holding a formal “manager” tittle, Jen has been in a position of leadership for years. She discusses how to find people who can “lead from where they are” without the formal title or direct reports.