Delusional direct report refuses to accept that his manager is in charge of him, manager gets even: 'Adam has openly claimed he doesn’t technically report to me'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jun 13, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Everyone has had a delusional coworker at some point in their professional lives. You're probably already thinking of the person you've encountered at work. You know, that guy who has created his own warped sense of the organizational structure of the company, who answers to no one and has a different set of tasks and responsibilities in his own mind than he actually has in his contract. These folks are walking red flags, and in virtually every case, it's only a matter of time before a confrontation is necessary.

A friend of mine recently had a coworker who was fired for not properly doing her job and then subsequently became a LinkedIn influencer for recreating history and espousing faux empowerment mantras regarding how poorly she was treated at work and how she defied expectations. The truth of the matter is that at the end of the day, she was simply not doing her job and she was treating her manager like her assistant. This manager shared a similar experience…

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    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • This author shared a story about how an employee who reports directly to him refused to acknowledge that structure. It quickly became common knowledge in the office that “Adam” defied the rules and lived in his own reality. The problem was that the author's boss didn't want to help confront Adam about his behavior, making it get worse and worse as time went on!

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    Here's one for all the managers who've had the delight of dealing with someone who simply refuses to acknowledge reality.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    I have a guy on my team - let's call him Adam. He actually joined the company before I did, but after a recent restructure,
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    two sub-departments were merged under my line and Adam was officially reassigned as my direct report.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    Everything is clear: the org chart, HR systems, his training assignments - all of it shows he reports to me.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    But from day one, Adam has acted like that isn't the case.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    He constantly bypasses me to go directly to my manager. If I assign him work, he either delays or goes silent - then later
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    circles back to my manager asking about the same task, like he's looking for a second opinion. In team meetings, he noticeably disengages when I speak.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    Arms crossed, distant look, and he only perks up when my manager talks ― often just to chime in or try to poke holes in whatever I've
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    said. The best part? His "corrections" are usually wrong and just make him look worse.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    Cheezburger Image 10516328704
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Multiple teammates have told me that Adam has openly claimed he "doesn't technically report to me." This, of course, has become running office satire.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    Someone once joked about how "the org chart ends in Adam's world," and now he's low-key roasted behind the scenes for it. One colleague even flat-out told him to "cut the c Naturally, he didn't.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    The ironic part is that no one else has this issue. Everyone else knows the structure, asks me for approvals, and takes feedback or assignments
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    normally. But Adam? He seems convinced he's on some invisible dotted-line special mission under my manager. (He isn't.) Even
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    my manager's boss noticed it and told me to straighten him out — otherwise, he'd put him on notice to HR. During a recent monthly review,
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    when Adam contradicted the numbers in a report I made, our business head actually joked about firing. him on the spot.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    To hit the point home, I've stopped bending over backwards to accommodate him. No more urgency on his time-off requests or time
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    card issues. I do approve them — just a few days later, and only after he's reminded me three or four times. Not out of spite — just trying to let
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    the system speak for itself. If I'm not your manager, why would you expect me to handle your admin tasks?
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    I've raised this with my own manager, who's a little too "empathetic" (read: conflict-avoidant) to tell Adam to knock it off or otherwise he will manage Adam himself.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    We're technically aligned, but in practice, my manager keeps asking me to "help Adam figure it out," because unless you spell things out step- by-step and basically design the entire solution
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    for him, Adam has no clue where to start. I expected challenges as a manager, sure. But not an identity crisis from someone who simply doesn't want to be managed. It's exhausting.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    So yeah — if you've ever had a delusional direct report who acts like you're just a co-worker with clipboard privileges... I see you. Stay strong.
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    Edit 2: Thanks for all the feedback. It'll take me some time to go through all of it and I won't be realistically able to respond to everyone but
    via Mr_Coco1234
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    a lot of people have shown me where I am going wrong which is great because i will focus on it.
    via Mr_Coco1234

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terrible coworkers workplace-stories work stories coworker stories toxic-workplace manager job work coworkers company toxic-work-environment
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