No one wakes up in the morning and says, “Today, I will be a horrible boss!” Everyone, however, has a story that relates to a terrible experience with an inferior manager.
What makes a “bad” boss?
Asking this question on Quora.com, one user said, “a bad boss is someone who does not know how to lead, motivate and bring the best out of others.” Another person wrote, “A bad manager is one that doesn’t care about their team or company.” A third person recalled, “When I was in high school, my tennis coach would always yell at me for every little thing and put me down when things went wrong.”
My worst manager experience was in my teenage years when my boss came into the radio station and pointed a gun at me! (He was drunk at the time, which is an entirely different conversation!) He was so strict and controlling, I never knew when he would flip out about something. He wanted things done his way or not at all — which is simply an impossible standard to meet!
A poor manager can be one who micromanages every aspect of the workday; someone who doesn’t communicate in ways employees understand, or constantly going over their heads, or even someone with no respect for their subordinates whatsoever. Basically, a horrible boss is anyone who makes you dread going into work each day. (If this sounds familiar, it might be time to update your resume!)
- What do all these have in common? They are terrible management experiences!
Let’s explore what makes a “bad” boss through examples from other people’s lives.
· So, what makes for a “bad boss”?
Is it someone who is “bossy” and “demanding”? Or, “stupid”, “arrogant”, or “boring?”
Many people think the first way to be a bad boss is by being a bad person. That’s not accurate! You don’t have to hate your employees to be considered a bad manager. There are many reasons why managers can fail — and many of them have nothing to do with personality!
· Let’s flip the script with this question: What makes an effective leader?
I believe there are three keys:
1. Communication
2. Motivation/reward systems
3. Satisfaction
When managers lack these skills, they display the qualities of a terrible boss, making their employees miserable (or worse!)
- Communication: an essential characteristic of any good manager! When a manager is communicative and collaborative, employees have an opportunity to “speak up” when there are problems — rather than having them fester.
- Motivation: this might be the most crucial part of being an effective leader; after all, who wants to work for someone that fails to inspire greater performance? If you treat your employees with respect and reward their hard work, they will feel valued — making them a happy team!
- Satisfaction: when the team and the manager are satisfied, it leads to happier customers in the long run. Employee satisfaction and engagement should be the ultimate goal of any good manager.
Leadership skills will make or break how successful you are as a manager. Bad managers often lack these three critical traits because it’s not easy to manage people…but without these qualities, how can you expect outstanding results from your team?
These skills will also help create career opportunities for employees of all types, from entry to executive levels. This means you will attract top talent because they want to work for and with you because of what can happen for them down the road if they do!
What’s important is setting high expectations that show trust in individuals, while providing them clear direction about the goals they need to achieve. Empowering people requires hiring talented managers.
- Remember — today’s employee typically does not quit on the organization…they quit on their manager!
In a time of great challenges in finding skilled prospective employees in a competitive hiring environment, it’s probably never been more critical to have superior managers in your company.
Superb management is about creating a culture where employees are happy and know what they’re supposed to do daily. When this happens, you have excellent teams who feel valued for all the efforts they put in on behalf of your organization. Productivity and profits improve — and you’re well on your way to creating distinction!
If you’d like more information on how to lead more productive teams, join our ICONIC Inner Circle. There is no risk — your first month to check it out is on me! Simply go to: https://IconicInnerCircle.com for all the information on how you can create distinction and become ICONIC!
