Bad bosses are everywhere and come in many forms. They are masters at getting the bare minimum out of their employees, have a knack for keeping turnover nice and high, and they all believe their management style (cough) works.
I’ve listed my personal favorites below…I worked for a few and heard horror stories of the others. If I’m missing one (or two), feel free to add to my list.
1. THE “I’LL BE BACKER” – This is the manager who never seems to be around, responds to urgent emails within 72 hours and has all calls go straight to voicemail. They are either traveling, closing deals on the golf course, at networking functions, or are perpetually in “meetings.” Think of George Costanza when he left his car in the parking lot while vacationing with his girlfriend. The danger: Employees are left to their own devices to make decisions and solve problems with no direction or leadership to facilitate. It also enables slackers to continue slacking, which causes tension and dissent within the company.
2. THE MICROMANAGER – This is the closed-minded manager who doesn’t trust his or her employees (children) to do anything, even if they have proven themselves worthy of trust day after day, year after year. The danger: These managers waste seventy-five percent of their time and thousands of dollars per year looking to replace excellent employees who escaped from under thumb.
3. THE GRUMP – This is the manager who is always irritated about something. He or she rarely has a nice thing to say and subconsciously leads through fear and intimidation. The danger: These managers foster tense work environments, keep stress levels consistently high and are the last to know about serious issues or developments.
4. THE JERK – These are the managers who treat people like their personal servants and speak to all employees in a condescending tone. Often referred to as the office bully, they throw their title around more times than you can shake an iPhone at while reminding everyone who the boss is, as if everyone is supposed to be impressed. The danger: These managers should legitimately be afraid to start their cars.
5. THE PROBLEM-SOLVER – These are the managers who offer employees unsolicited advice to problems they don’t completely understand and expect perfect outcomes based on well, not much. Or, employees are given direct orders on how to solve their problems. The danger: Employees will interpret this behavior as condescending and insulting as their manager is indirectly telling them they don’t have the intelligence or capacity to solve their own problems. And, problems will never really get solved.
6. THE FRIEND – Perhaps the most dangerous manager of all, this is the one who is more concerned about being everyone’s buddy ol’ pal than being a leader. We all know how easy leadership is when everything is hunky dory – it’s like managing a zoo of stuffed animals. But, when it’s time to address a problem, this is precisely when the friend falls flat on his or her beak. The danger: As he or she avoids confrontation at all costs, it will enable, or shall I say, actually endorse unacceptable behaviors. When employees and colleagues see that problems are getting worse, and not getting resolved, respect for the “friend” leader disappears.
Most managers possess traces, in some part, of one or more of the leadership styles listed above. And, some may not even know it. The most effective leaders are consistent, fair, stable, empathetic and firm, when necessary. Managing doesn’t need to be an ongoing trial and error exercise to find the best approach to achieve the greatest outcomes.
Strong leadership training programs, teaches managers the skills they need to be the best leaders they can be to motivate people to give their best every day in every way.