Surviving the Small King at work.

Hail to the King, by Avenged Sevenfold, is a gritty tune that rocks out against the abuse of power.
When the Small King rose to power within my organization, the lyrics of that song burrowed into my mind.
He mastered the art of condescension and procrastination and threw in ample dollops of misogyny. But hey, he was good at his work, and he could wrangle some charisma around the Bigger Kings.
As a peer, most of the people back then, long-time servants to the monarchy, tolerated the occasional slackness. All in a day’s work.
The Bigger Kings, who had also inherited power, confused loudness and ridicule with strength and leadership.
Once installed in power, the Small King flipped the script and demanded draconian performance. The prankster became a grinning tyrant.
Many people were thrown into performance reviews, something that never existed under the old regime, where employees enjoyed a natural culture of collaboration.

This story, a true one, ended well. The Bigger Kings, who have also moved on since then, threw the Small King out with the trash during a moment of clarity.

The bitter lesson:
Some worthless individuals claw their way to the throne on the back of one trick: No.
No to lifting. No to owning up. No to pulling dead weight up the hill with the rest of us.
The gutless people above mistake that rock-hard refusal for spine and so they crown him king of nothing.

Once crowned, the rotten king demands your nights, your soul, your sanity, every “yes” you have.
He is hollow inside, and he needs your broken back to ride the illusion of strength.
Hopefully the blind fools begin to see the decay dripping from his crown.
They will drag him out behind the walls and toss him with the trash.

So here is the only law when you find yourself ruled by rot: Serve to the best of your ability but never be destroyed.

Keep your resume warm, your skills sharpened.
Plan exit strategies; keep Plan B alive.
Build Plan C.

Daily: Write it down. Keep clear records of what you build, fix, save, and deliver. When the tyrant tries to take credit or blame, your receipts speak louder than his noise.

Build Reputation Beyond the Immediate
Cultivate relationships, seek out allies, mentors, and collaborators outside the rotten king’s shadow. Make your skills visible across teams and departments. Your quest becomes personal growth.

Draw the Line for Your Health
Refuse to stay late out of fear. Protect sleep, family time, and mental space. If you burn out patching holes for a hollow man, you will vanish when he does. Do not sacrifice your peace, your health, your family, your soul to patch the holes in a hollow man’s reign.
No one can meet the demands of a tyrant, so do not die trying.

Keep your name clean. Keep your standards high.
Keep building work you can stand by when he is long gone and you are still here.

Stand your ground. Do good work. Walk out whole.

When they drag his carcass off the throne, you will still be there.
That is the final insult to his failure: you survived him.
Amen. Hail to the King. Stay whole.