Five Habits of Highly Horrible Bosses
I have a good friend who has a horrible boss. Horrible. Just…awful.
Every time she tells me about something he does at work, I think to myself, “How do people like this exist in the world, much less rise to positions of power?”
After her last story, I thought to myself, “Is he even remotely aware what horrible, terrible, ineffective leader he is?”
Probably not. You can’t be aware that you suck that hard and not do anything about it.
This means that he must think he’s doing a good job!! That’s ridiculous.
So, as a public service to all the people out there suffering, working for horrible dumbass bosses, I have put together a list of five things that horrible bosses do on a regular basis.
If you supervise others, please read this list with an open mind and ask yourself, “do I do any of these things?” If you honestly answer “yes,” it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, it just means you need to work on your management style. Awareness is the first step, and “knowing is half the battle.”
If you unfortunately work for a horrible boss, see if there’s a way you can get them to read this post. At the very least, share it via FacebookLINK and TwitterLINK so others can see it and spread it for you. Maybe it will make its way to the right eyes…
1) Use Public Shaming as a Motivational Tool
Some bosses have a tendency to berate and dress down their employees in very public places. They do it in front of colleagues, customers, prospects, leads, and sometimes the general public.
This is a ridiculous, stupid practice. If you’re not sure why, here are a few reasons:
- It diminishes their authority and credibility in front of their peers, customers, students, etc. That sucks.
- It is not a forum that allows the employee a chance to discuss, explain, and get clarification.
- Public criticism is usually about telling someone they’re wrong, not about how they can improve. They’re not the same, and simply telling someone they are wrong rarely accomplishes anything.
- It makes the customers, other employees, students, etc. wary. A culture of fear is rarely productive.
- It makes other managers wary and fearful of when you’re wrath will fall on them.
Maybe this last one is why some bosses publicly berate their employees; they want everyone to be fearful. If that’s you, you need to realize that this creates a culture of people who will never take risks, never innovate, never strive to be the best, and only do as much as they need to avoid your criticism.
What to do if this is you:
Learn to control your emotions! The next time you are about to criticize someone, pause, breathe, think, and take a look around. Are there other people around? If so, set up a meeting to discuss the employee’s behavior in private.
2) Set Impossible Goals and then Say, “Just Get it Done”
Good and great bosses push their people to do more and be more. However they also understand how to set realistic expectations, and they support and help their staff grow.
Horrible bosses push their people to do more and be more, but they set ridiculous expectations and offer no support.
I know bosses who would set super high objectives and when their staff pointed out to them that they:
- Didn’t think it was possible
- Didn’t know how to go about even beginning (and then asked for help)
They were told, “Just get it done!”
“Just get it done”? Really?? That’s basically saying, “Yeah, I have no idea what the hell I am doing, what the hell I want, or how the hell you can get it for me, but I don’t care. I just want it.”
It’s like a petulant child who doesn’t care that the toy store is closed – they want the new Optimus Prime Transformer now!!
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
As a manager, it doesn’t matter what you want, and it doesn’t matter what you need. What matters is what your people can do, and what you can help your people do.
What to do if this is you:
Get a clue and communicate! Work with your staff to set objectives that push them a little but that they can achieve without burning out. Then support your people when they struggle and make it your priority to help your employees flourish.
3) Be a Big Fat Hypocrite
For some, becoming “the boss” is awesome because the rules suddenly don’t apply to them anymore. They either make the rules, or they enforce them, so if they choose not to follow them, who’s to tell them they’re wrong?
Hypocrisy can be obvious. For example, you tell your employees they can’t eat at their desks, but you chomp down on a McDonald’s happy meal every day at yours. However, it can also be subtle. Say, when you get pissed when employees don’t respond to your email fast enough, but you regularly ignore and forget theirs. Dumb, dumb, dumb…
This one to me seems like it should be the easiest one to avoid. How can you possibly get pissed at others about stuff that you do yourself?? It makes no sense.
And yet, this is also probably the one that is most commonly found in workplaces around the world. I think it happens for three reasons:
- The boss is on a power trip, and doesn’t believe that rules that apply to others should apply to him.
- The boss is obtuse, and never thinks beyond whatever is directly in front of him. He can’t connect his criticism of you with his own behavior, because he is incapable of having more than one thing in perspective at a time.
- The boss is an idiot who doesn’t understand how logic works. Not only is he too stupid to understand his hypocrisy, he’s too stupid to really even understand what hypocrisy is. Until he’s on the receiving end of it. Then he’ll rant and rave like a lunatic.
What to do if this is you:
Take a long look in the mirror. Before you fire off a critical email or dress down an employee for bad behavior, ask yourself, “Do I ever do this?” Be really, really honest with yourself here. Look through your old emails if you have to. Make it a personal policy to lead by example.
Side-but-related-note: Don’t establish B.S. policies if you don’t know what they mean. That is, you can’t have an “open door” policy all the time if you keep your door closed all day and then get annoyed when people stop by to talk about something. That’s not an “open door” policy. That’s an “I read a management book once, didn’t understand it, but tried to implement it anyway,” policy.
4) Ignore Questions and Requests
As a boss, one of your jobs is to help your employees do their jobs to the best of their ability. If they come to you (in person, on the phone, or via email) for help, advice, or insight, it is a fundamental part of your job that you respond to them to the best of your ability.
If you ignore them, then you are a horrible boss.
Yes, you are busy. Yes, you have lots to do and things fall through the cracks. Yes, you really wish your people could be perfect and brilliant and accomplish exactly what you want without you having to help them.
Oh well, Ding Happens. Welcome to the real world.
The most common place you’ll see this is in requests for feedback. Your boss gives you a task, so you put something together. Then you send it over to them and say, “Here’s what I’ve done, is this what you’re looking for?” They never reply. You finish the work to the best of your ability. You show it to your boss. He flips out because it’s not at all what he wanted.
But wait, it gets worse – sometimes, you’ll have the exact scenario above, but your boss will reply and say, “It looks fine,” and then, when you show him the finished product, he flips out because it’s not at all what he wanted.
Crazy? Yes. Sad? Yes? Does it happen? Oh yes.
What to do if this is you:
Respond! Yes, you’re busy. So is everyone. You have to realize that in many situations you are the number one bottleneck to your employees’ productivity. Answer their questions, give them feedback, and get out of their damned way!
5) Use Passive Aggressive “Blanket Communication” for Criticism
Ah, blanket communication. The last bastion of the weak manager…
You’ve probably received this type of message before, most likely in an email:
Please note: some employees are creating sub-par reports. Please make certain that you follow ALL guidelines in the policies and procedures manuals. Sub-par-reports will no longer be tolerated, and if the quality of the work continues at this level, steps will be taken…
The problem with this type of communication is that it goes out to everyone. It goes to people with sub-par reports. It goes to people with great reports. It goes to people with ok reports. It goes to everyone. And that’s just stupid.
The problem is that when you send it to everyone, everyone will start to wonder if the email is meant for them. That creates anxiety and dissension. People who were doing things well may make unnecessary changes and start doing worse.
If everyone is doing sub-par work, then everyone needs to be reprimanded (and be taught and guided). If however, only a few people are doing sub-par work, then grow a pair and do your damned job and talk with them one-on-one!
Yes, I said “grow a pair” because I am convinced that the “blanket communication criticism” happens for one of two reasons:
- The boss is too weak and non-confrontational to actually have a direct conversation with the sub-par employee(s), so he figures it’s easier to put it in a vague email. Weak sauce, my friends, Weak sauce.
- The boss is a bully and knows that his blanket communication will create a bit of anxiety which will keep people a bit on edge. This will allow the bully to maintain his power.
If you’re #1, then grow a pair and be a real leader. Have the tough conversations that are part of your job and make the employee and organization better.
If you’re #2, then grow up, take a long look in the mirror, and realize that your short term strategies for success are not only going to condemn you to a life of mediocrity (at best) but will also make the live of your good, smart, hard-working employees unnecessarily miserable.
What to do if this is you:
Do your job! Stop running away from the uncomfortable responsibilities of your job. Have one-on-one conversations, learn how to give evaluations and feedback, and stop making everyone crazy with blanket communications. That’s all there is to it.
One Additional Note
With all the hubbub and pressure of work, here’s something that bosses, especially the horrible ones, forget:
As a boss, you have an extremely high impact on the lives of your employees. That is a responsibility and a privilege.
No, this doesn’t mean you should coddle people and let bad behavior slide and try to be everyone’s “buddy.”
However, please remember that the person who works for you is a person. They have feelings, and a life, and hopes, and fears, and dreams and aspirations.
If you’re a horrible boss, you’re not just hurting the company, or not getting the most out of your people, or increasing turnover and losing great people. If you’re truly horrible (and based on anecdotal evidence, there are a lot of horrible bosses out there), then you are also crushing dreams, destroying hopes, reducing health, and negatively impacting the quality of life of the people who work for you.
Sound grandiose? It’s not. It’s the way it is. And if you disagree with that, then take a good look in the mirror. If you don’t realize that your actions as a boss can tremendously influence the lives of your employees, then you may very well be a horrible boss…
Question: What have I missed? Please share your examples and insight on other “Habits of Highly Bosses” in the comments below!
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Are you planning a management retreat or meeting and looking for a great speaker to share simple ideas your leaders can use to be less horrible (and actually be amazing!) with humor and energy? Then visit Avish’s Conference Speaker page now!
About
By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+
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