I am usually a great giver of advice. When it comes to giving myself advice, that is not always easy although in hindsight it it sometimes seems obvious. Let me set the scene before I dive into the question.

I am 40 years old and have been very successful in my career, and was recently successful in being promoted to a Principal role in my organization. Think of this like a Principal Scientist or Research Engineer, one of twenty highly skilled individuals in an organization of over 30k employees. The promotion was handled by the CEO and VP level in the company, so not something my 'boss' could influence. I am also the most qualified, both academically and professionally. Certainly in the top 2% in the industry. Life is good.

Since being promoted, it seems by boss is jealous. My promotion was sponsored by the CEO, and my boss was reluctant for me to go through the process from the start. I now earn more than they do (and yes this is possible in my industry), and I have a very large following on social media (this is a throwaway Reddit account I am using, to protect my identity). It seems I have indeed... out-shined the master.

As a result, I am finding that working with this individual to be very stressful. My superior is actually delusional, telling lies about how my travel expenses (I travel globally) are the highest on the team. I managed to obtain a report that says I am the sixth highest, but that is accounted for in my role and revenue I bring in. By the way, we work from home although live in the same country we are at least a 4 hour drive from each other.

So far my approach is to keep a solid frame, I remain calm on any call or email with this person and I never (ever) defend myself. I am the one that initiates 1:1 meetings, otherwise they wouldn't happen, and often when they start talking I remain silent to hear them say and reveal more. I am constantly being bombarded with comments like, "There is a perception you are too busy to help others, you need to step it up now" when in fact the feedback they received said " has been amazing, I just wish we could clone 10 more versions of this person!". You get the idea.

It seems my only option is to leave the company. I've been there for almost 9 years, but have already had job offers from some very appealing companies.

I would appreciate your thoughts and advice. Is leaving taking the easy way out?