Meryl Streep, in the highly publicized movie “The Devil Wears Prada,”
magnifies the havoc caused by a demanding, self-absorbed female boss. Yet in reality, male bosses can be every bit as bad. Despite gender, bad bosses create mayhem in the workplace and contribute to high turnover, absenteeism and loss of productivity. In fact one study found that almost 80 percent of the employees surveyed identified their boss as a lousy manager. These discontents are often described as ogres, control freaks, micromanagers, bullies or just plain jerks. Whatever the moniker or the gender, after more than eight years of studying nearly 1,000 workers, author Harvey Hornstein, Ph.D. estimates that 90 percent of America’s workforce has
been subjected to these toxic individuals at some point in time.
And, today, with so many industries resorting to virtual bosses, the problem is ripe for being magnified. Take Darla for example.
Darla, a loyal five year employee for an international technology corporation, had glowing reviews for her various positions which drew upon her expertise in accounting. Through numerous layoffs, Darla had always been saved because of the quality of her work, her ability to multi-task and her commitment to deadlines. Then suddenly everything changed. During another company layoff round Darla was once again saved, yet this time handed off to a boss hundreds of miles across the country and assigned responsibilities for which she had no attributes, experience or training. And, when Darla asked for help, she was instead embarrassed by her boss during group conference
calls with belittling statements and suggestions of incompetence.
Even though Darla sought technical help on her own, she continued to be publicly belittled in conference calls; even being told that the boss feared giving her some tasks because she was perhaps not able to multi-task well enough—this despite Darla having been previously commended for just that issue.
After months of being put down and demeaned, Darla sought the help of the human resource professionals, asking how she might better be able to work with her new boss. Yet instead of help, Darla sensed further pressure and a reluctance to intervene on her behalf. Darla’s stress intensified and eventually her physician strongly advised a medical leave. When Darla and her doctor felt she was ready to return to work, she was terminated and the bad boss seemingly prevailed. Darla was given a sizeable termination package and within days, another massive layoff was announced by the company.
While logic would indicate that no company would want a manager who is impairing performance or productivity, the reality is that from time to time the abused employee becomes branded as a trouble-maker/ complainer and his or her days become numbered as in Darla’s case.
Fortunately not all companies are so fraught with support for bad bosses. This one seems to have a history. That says much about its leadership and certainly would seem to be a factor contributing to its continued layoffs, stock drops and troubled financial situation.
How does this happen and what can be done about it? It always starts with leadership. Accepting bad management behavior begins at the top. I remember James Copeland, former CEO and Chairman of Deloitte & Touche telling me that if someone came to work for their firm from another in the industry and was observed communicating in a degrading way to a secretary, every head would turn to look at the individual and it would soon become evident that “we don’t treat people like that here.” And, if the behavior was repeated, the individual would be reprimanded. Senior leadership always sets the tone.
Another reason this happens is that all too often the old Peter
Principle prevails—someone rises to the level of their incompetence.
Just because an individual is technically great at their job doesn’t necessarily mean they are capable of managing people. Managing requires strong people skills. Unless promotions to management are made only by ensuring that prospective candidates are qualified with management attributes as well as technical skills, you risk getting a brilliant boss with no management skills. Benchmarking the job from an attributes standpoint and assessing each candidate against that benchmark is the best way to make the best match. Very few people make good managers if they are promoted for the wrong reasons.
What can the employee do?
- Begin with you.
An honest self-analysis is a good start. How have you been handling yourself on the job? Have you in any way contributed to the problem? Have you made genuine attempts to address the problems in a non-accusatory manner? Honest soul-searching and sound-boarding the situation with a trusted advisor who is willing to be extremely candid, is the best place to start.
- Document bad boss behaviors.
If you are honestly doing all you can do, go to the next step and
make a list of all the things your boss does that aggravate you.
After a few days, review the list again, deleting or adding from a reflective standpoint. Now rank the list from the most to least annoying. Select the top few and frame them from a genuine positive help standpoint to discuss with your boss. Be prepared to leave your emotions out of the discussion and also be prepared for your boss to have an emotional reaction. It could be that when presented to your boss in a positive, non-accusatory manner, you may find that he has been totally unaware of the impact of his actions. It is also possible, however, that the meeting won’t go well. Be prepared for either.
- Journal.
Document each bad behavior your boss commits in a journal. Simply document the facts of the situation and how the bad behavior impacted your performance as well as others that may also be directly impacted. Reserve judgment of emotional reactions; state merely the facts. Just writing these down will bring some value to you in relieving your stress. At some point, should you decide to leave the position, you may consider sharing this information with an appropriate individual.
- Seek a mentor.
If you feel your bad boss situation is situational and doesn’t exist in other parts of the company, seek to develop a mentoring relationship with a boss or supervisor in another division of the company. An individual totally removed from the situation can often help provide advice to help you cope with your situation, plus they may also be able to suggest you for a promotion in another part of the company.
- Protect your health.
Doing nothing is the worst thing you can do for your health or sense of self. If it becomes evident that there is little you can do about the situation it is simply in your best interest to begin networking
to find a new position within or outside of the organization.
Staying in a highly emotionally abusive situation can be extremely detrimental to your health. If there is no support internally, take control and remove yourself from the situation. Remember the old adage—where one door closes, another opens. But, you have to close that door before there is possibility for a new and better door.
Oh, yes—a footnote here about Darla. She is now working in a totally new industry, performing as a high achiever and excited to go to work everyday—a glowing example of knowing that while it’s hard to let go, sometimes it definitely is a blessing in the long run. 
|
