Part 2 of the Beating Bad Bosses Blog Series
In our last blog post we discussed two of the top 7 bad bosses and just how they can be destructive to an organization. Today, in this second installment of the series we will discuss a few more of these oh-so-undesirable types of managers. In Part 3, we will discuss what you can do to beat them (legally).
3) The Non-Leader Manager:
Just because individuals become managers, doesn’t mean that they are leaders. This is where so many companies make the most dire mistake. Employees who are excellent at their jobs get moved into management positions, but while they can manage processes, they can’t manage people (ever hear of the Peter Principle?). Maybe these are the managers who are afraid of confrontation, who are too wishy-washy, who fail to make a decision, and who refuse to cause a wave.
Employees recognize quickly, though, that managers who won’t stand up for themselves, won’t stand up for them, either. These are also the managers who don’t have the respect of other managers in the workplace, or of their superiors. They themselves are not confident professionals who demand respect and authority and as such, cannot demand it for their team.
4) The All-Relationship Manager:
Some managers are all about the relationship. They mean well in their attempts to build a team, however as they do so they create chaos. As they let employees work without a framework of rules and discipline, their lack of infrastructure will eventually cause their department to collapse around them. What seems like fun at first will cause their employees to have no respect for them as employees get more and more frustrated in the loose environment.
This environment is also ripe for hurt feelings as things get too personal outside a framework of discipline. Managers and employees alike wear their heart on their sleeve and second guess every decision as having a personal motivation.
5) The No-Relationship Manager:
Equally bad are the No Relationship Managers. These are the managers who are all about the rules and the discipline who fail to develop any relationship with their employees, inviting hostility and rebellion. Employees do their best to stay under the radar to avoid the cold evaluation and absence of feedback. Without the give and take of a healthy leadership relationship, employees will be frustrated and disengaged, and will feel that their hard work is taken for granted.
Remember, the number one reason people leave an organization is because of poor management. Are you experiencing high employee turnover at your company? It might be time to think about how to deal with poor management. Part three will be posted in a couple of days. Don’t miss it!
