That’s an effectively intractable (and common problem). Even when there is a board involved, a skip-level approach to pointing it out is very likely an end of employment situation.
Machiavelli had advice for this situation, and it wasn’t kind.
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You come at the king, you best not miss. If I got to the point of going to the board about my CEO, it’s already a him-or-me situation, and that almost always means it’s me who’ll be leaving.
The CEO currently has the board’s support, at least ostensibly, and I’d be faced with moving them off the status quo; that’s unlikely over a routine leader style topic…
> If an injury must be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
—- Machiavelli
What advice did Machiavelli have?
He didn't so far as I can tell. He wrote The Prince for an audience of rulers, both new and established, aiming to preserve or reinforce their power.
But to be charitable bc that is basically a nit, he would have advised a calculated approach to wielding political influence or instilling fear. He was partial to creating alliances with the adversaries, circumventing them, or otherwise coercing them into agreeing with your priorities.
He was the “Its better to be feared not loved, if you can’t do both” guy so GP is right when they say his advice here would not be kind. Its because his methods are not really what you want to use to make a better environment at work. Ironically, I think all the problems Machiavelli was concerned with were “people problems”, but he wasn’t concerned with fixing them, just doing whatever it takes to maintain stability for a given ruler.
From the Wikipedia entry:
> After his death Machiavelli's name came to evoke unscrupulous acts of the sort he advised most famously in his work, The Prince. He claimed that his experience and reading of history showed him that politics have always been played with deception, treachery, and crime. He also notably said that a ruler who is establishing a kingdom or a republic, and is criticized for his deeds, including violence, should be excused when the intention and the result are beneficial to him.
Murder them and take their power.