The truth of the corporate world (or in that sense, any formal sector) is people quit bosses, not jobs. A bad boss can make a good job miserable and a bad job unbearable. Beyond the negative impact on individual employees, ineffective managers can also cost companies tons of money in turnover and lost productivity.
Bad managers quickly become famous within the organisation, but not in the right way. Smart employees warn their peers to avoid these people. Refugees (former employees) from the team tell stories far and wide, once they move to better options. Many simply quit, without having another offer letter in hand, to escape the pain.
These managers, in most cases, outlast their team members. Sometimes, in the name of being target and deadline-oriented, they pressurise and wear down their workmates. If the company benefits from the phenomenon, these “leaders” get rewarded as well, an act which further legitimises such toxic behaviour within an organisational set-up.
Engage In Office Politics
Bad managers are known for playing nasty office politics, taking credit for others’ work, and blaming their team for mistakes committed at the leadership level. In such environments, apart from the slow death of professionalism, the employees feel disrespected and devalued.
These managers only use their teams to facilitate their career advancement, rather than ensuring collective professional progress.
Taking credit for someone else’s success is never a good idea and it gets worse when the sin is committed by the boss. It dampens any motivation employees might have. People want to be recognised and challenged with even tougher goals.
However, if they come to know that even after completing those difficult tasks, they won’t get the credit, they will simply lose the drive to excel, and in the long run, become detrimental to their careers.
Talking about bad managers and office politics, these individuals also control the narrative both into and out of the team. They also maintain strict control over the team’s communication flow, by monitoring email and meetings, insisting on being copied or included. They meticulously review and edit every scrap of information that might find its way to the higher-ups.
Very often, office politics happens through a rat race, where all the managers try to pull each other down, to become “Company’s Darling.” And the ones who suffer the most are the team members.
Acting Like An Entitled Soul
Managers having a false sense of entitlement often demand special privileges or unearned respect, leading to favouritism and unfair treatment of employees. This attitude can stifle motivation, diminish trust, and create a culture where hard work is undervalued.
Instead of inspiring and leading by example, entitled managers erect the “I am the SUPREME BEING” kind of wall around them, becoming disengaged and disconnected from their team’s needs, ultimately hindering productivity and growth and creating resentment.
The bad boss looks for the qualities that make them successful and measures employees by the same criteria. Bad bosses also try to mould others into what the boss believes their employees should be. The whole thing defies this simple law of humankind: No two souls are identical to each other. People can’t be forcefully changed. What may be the parameters to become successful for someone, may not work out for others.
Good bosses identify people’s strengths and put them in a position to use those strengths. Great bosses practice empathy and emotional intelligence about what people care about, instead of projecting what they care about onto their employees, while elevating the latter to achieve their maximum potential.
Indulging In Micromanagement
Micromanagement may be effective sometimes, but what if micromanagement exists across all functions of a business? Thought leaders have what it takes to run a business, hiring people who are great at what they do speeds up business growth. For people to excel, they should have the freedom to plan and execute on their own, based on the objectives set by their bosses.
Micromanaging not only limits an employee’s ability to deliver success, but also causes the boss to stretch themselves too thin and not lead the company well. Micromanagement leads to distrust and only serves to slow a business down long term, so it’s best to avoid it.
There is no objectively bad style of managing. The job of a manager is to make sure that a team is aligned with its mission and has the support and resources it needs to achieve that mission. But every employee is different, so the only way to accomplish that is to tailor your managing, coaching and communication to best fit that individual. Bad bosses don’t show an appetite to learn, and instead offer a one-size-fits-all approach. They are impatient when an employee doesn’t “get it” and they won’t invest the time in learning the right way to manage each individual.
What inspires a team of employees is working for a leader they feel understands them, listens to them and directs them accordingly. There are always going to be challenges in the workplace, and one of the most important things a leader can do is empathise with their employees.
If a frustrated client takes it out on an employee, talk them through it. If an employee makes a mistake, take the time to understand where things went wrong before passing judgement. Having empathy shows employees their leader cares and is invested in their future. Not having that quality will almost ensure high employee turnover and low productivity.
Creating Unnecessary Panic
Bad managers are known to instil fear and anxiety in their employees. There remains an unpredictability on which side (happy or angry) of the person will turn up to work. This phenomenon often leads to wasted energy and resentment, thereby affecting the company’s productivity.
Also, some bad bosses come with a lack of commitment. They will come late and leave early, while their team members will continue slogging on to meet the project deadlines. If anything goes wrong, the boss, in order to save his/her back, won’t hesitate to throw one of the team members under the bus.
These personalities often accompany the trait called “too focus on ownself.” Everything is all about them, with the person acting out of their ego or panic about how they appear to others.
Instead of focusing on the issues that affect the teams and the company, they often prioritise their appearances. They seem to forget that what truly matters is the trinity of good leadership skills, problem-solving abilities, and the ability to deliver timely results. It’s not about putting on a show of strength and invincibility like gladiator fights.
Doesn’t Lead By Example
While the best leaders slog along with their teams to get things done, the worst ones do the exact opposite. True leaders roll up their sleeves, sit in with different teams and departments, and proactively help out in executing the projects on time. It’s a great way to identify needs, inefficiencies and strengths and most importantly, earn the employees’ respect.
Everyone makes mistakes. Good leaders minimise the damage by looking for solutions like imparting more training, changing the human resources around, shifting to various strategies or goals, etc. They avoid the practice of pouncing upon mistakes. Bad managers always consider these mistakes as opportunities to show their team members in a bad light.
Here is how the cycle goes: A worker blames the machinery, the supervisor blames the worker, the manager blames the supervisor, and the head of the company blames the manager. It’s like a chain of denial, with no one mulling to say, “Let’s focus on solutions so it doesn’t happen again?”
Good bosses come with a clear vision of what they want to accomplish and plan each day around moving closer to that goal. On the other hand, bad bosses remain inconsistent with their goals. They would often change strategies or priorities each week. They can be nice, intelligent, creative or experienced, but their lack of focus is what ultimately makes them bad at their jobs.
A leader also needs to do the work, listen to their employees, learn constantly and have respect for the employees they manage. Without these four elements, employees will have a difficult time giving their manager respect and the potential for a great relationship is instantly ruined.
Employees want to feel that their opinions matter and that their leaders value their input. What separates a bad manager from a good one is that the latter makes his/her teammates feel valued by giving them responsibility and respecting them enough to step back and serve the purpose for which they have been hired. When they feel respected, they will respect their team leader in return.
In contrast to good managers, poor managers neglect training, leaving their team to figure things out on their own. This not only hampers productivity but also diminishes employee morale. Confusion and errors rule the roost.