When a Subordinate’s Success Feels Like a Threat In many workplaces, ambition is applauded in theory but policed in practice. The true measure of leadership is not how tightly authority is guarded, but how confidently it creates space for others to rise. When success feels threatening, the problem is rarely performance, it is perspective.

By Annah Nafula

Anita never set out to unsettle anyone. She opened her salon and cosmetics business out of passion. It began as a creative outlet, a productive hobby to balance the structure of her corporate eight-to-five job.

Over time, that hobby evolved into a serious enterprise. Her experience in the formal sector sharpened her systems, customer care, and branding. Soon, her salon became the talk of the town.

Ironically, many of her most loyal clients were fellow corporates whose everyday inconveniences she had once resolved.

She still reported to work every morning. Met her targets. Submitted her assignments. Yet her success outside the office complicated her life inside it.

Transport vouchers sat unsigned on her manager’s desk. Expense approvals took weeks. Field assignments were executed, but facilitation was delayed. The quiet assumption lingered in the air: Anita has money. She can manage.

And so she did. She transferred funds, postponed personal commitments, and paid costs upfront, trusting that reimbursement would follow once reports were submitted.

Failure to deliver risked being labeled as lazy or uncommitted. Going beyond her job description was praised as dedication, until it was time to process her claims.

Then conversations grew uncomfortable. More than once, she would find herself lingering outside the accounts office, waiting.

Meanwhile, small signals accumulated. A new car attracted commentary. Photos from a short trip to Dubai prompted raised eyebrows.

Performance conversations began to include subtle references to “focus” and “priorities.” Her competence was no longer assumed. Her external income became a subject of speculation. Her ambition was recast as a distraction.

Anita’s experience reflects a broader shift. Many professionals today survive on more than one stream of income. Remote consulting, small businesses, investments, and family ventures supplement salaries that rarely stretch far enough.

For some managers, however, a subordinate’s visible success feels personal. When someone they supervise thrives both inside and outside the office, envy can quietly creep in.

Envy rarely announces itself as such. It arrives instead as a carefully worded email:

Dear Anita,

I want to acknowledge the results you continue to deliver. Your capability is clear, and your potential remains evident.

That said, there is an expectation of greater attentiveness to day-to-day responsibilities. With more consistent focus on internal priorities, your contribution could reach a higher standard. The level of commitment you apply elsewhere shows what is possible when full attention is given.

I encourage you to consider how that same dedication can be more visible within the team.

Regards,
Manager

On the surface, it reads like guidance. Beneath it lies suspicion.

Once that suspicion settles in, patterns follow. Instructions arrive late or vaguely framed. Minor errors are carefully documented. Leave requests are scrutinized.

Studying for an exam, caring for a sick child, or attending to family matters is framed as indulgence rather than necessity. Ambition beyond the office becomes evidence of divided loyalty.

Research suggests this dynamic is neither rare nor imagined. A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that envy leads to more hostile behavior when supervisors foster competitive relationships among coworkers.

Competitive environments amplify counterproductive conduct linked to envy, affecting both individuals and teams.

At the heart of the issue lies a misunderstanding of leadership itself. Dr Herbert Turyatunga, lecturer and consultant in Institutional Leadership and Management at Uganda Management Institute, distinguishes clearly between management and leadership.

Management, he says, involves planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling resources to accomplish tasks, while leadership, however, is influence.

It shapes behavior and commitment without relying on positional power or fear. When managers rely primarily on control, a subordinate’s external success may feel like a loss of authority.

Rather than confront that discomfort directly, they signal “misalignment” or question standards. Turyatunga observes that such reactions are more common in organizations where positions are treated as status rather than service.

Organizational culture either tempers or fuels these reactions. Sylvia Asiimwe, a human resource manager at AMG International – Uganda, explains that highly competitive cultures are more likely to nurture envy-driven behavior.

Workplaces that value collaboration and employee well-being are less prone to it. Personality factors matter as well.

Managers who feel they have not achieved their own aspirations may be especially vulnerable to insecurity when faced with high-performing subordinates.

The consequences are measurable. Research published in Administrative Sciences shows that toxic leadership spreads authoritarian behaviors that diminish trust and employee well-being, undermining morale, retention, and productivity.

What emerges from both research and lived experience is a call for deeper leadership development.

Emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skill, shapes how managers interpret the success of others.

Turyatunga argues that managerial effectiveness depends on how well one manages oneself in relation to others, while Asiimwe notes that organizations need to institutionalize awareness programmes, self-assessment tools, and systems that reinforce positive workplace norms.

A 2025 study in Behavioral Sciences further examined how employees perceived as having strong leadership potential can trigger jealousy in their supervisors.

The findings show that leader jealousy may manifest as ostracism and subtle exclusion. The authors recommend leadership development programmes that strengthen self-awareness and confidence so that a subordinate’s success is not perceived as a threat.

Anita’s story is not unique. Across offices in Uganda, countless professionals are quietly building businesses, pursuing passions, and investing in futures beyond their salaries.

They rise early, meet deadlines, manage teams, and still carve out hours for side ventures that offer purpose and security.

Yet the very drive that should be celebrated often becomes a source of tension. Approval delays, subtle criticism, and the weight of suspicion test their patience and resilience every day.

Success, it seems, is easiest to applaud until it sits at the desk across from you.