“What a jerk! I can’t take another day working for that creep! I’ll work anywhere but here!”
Have you heard anyone say this about their boss? I have. I shake my head when I see a boss making people so miserable.
In my 40-year career as a coach of all levels in organizations globally, I’ve seen all manner of lousy, disgusting, toxic bosses. These are the most common complaints I see and hear. If they sound like your boss, well, you probably already know just how toxic your boss is. If any of these ring true personally, and you don’t like the idea of being a villain, then consider investing in some leadership development for yourself.
They can’t be trusted. Unethical business practices. No integrity. Their public face is different from their personal face.
The world revolves around them. They need to be the focus of meetings, conversations, and discussions. They do not include others.
They select certain people (usually people who are just like them) and treat them better than their other direct reports. They demonstrate partiality to them. Their favorites get all the breaks, credit, and kudos while everyone else shoulders the workload and the blame.
They are inconsiderate and overlook basic civility toward others. Vulgar, thoughtless, inconsiderate behavior abounds.
They have to have the final word on everything. They can’t admit that they don’t know something. Meetings with them are a waste of time since they already have their minds made up.
They enforce policies sporadically depending on their moods or who is involved. Their people are not sure which behaviors will show up on any given day. They are hard to predict and frustrating to others.
They love gossip and gossiping, particularly about you. When you aren’t around, they rip you apart to others, they badmouth you, and in the most egregious cases, they create and spread false information about you.
They simply cannot keep a secret. When you take them into your confidence, they divulge your information to others and use that information to gain power over you.
They have to control and focus the spotlight on themselves. They can’t stand others being recognized over them, and they shift any accolade from the team to them.
They can’t be trusted. Unethical business practices. No integrity. Their public face is different from their personal face.
It is a waste of time to try to tell them your concerns or suggestions. They won’t hear you. You can tell they are in another world when you talk to them. They interrupt you with their own thoughts. Their non-verbals tell you they disagree with you or they already have their mind made up.
This list should be obvious to almost everyone, but surprisingly, we all know bosses who engage in some (or many) of these disgusting behaviors. If you want people to truly hate working for you, all you have to do is adopt any of the above characteristics.
Take an honest look at yourself as you supervise others. Do you have any of the above tendencies? The famous Socrates quote, “Know thyself,” is very appropriate as you manage the professional lives of your people. Consider Gem #10 from my book, 52 Leadership Gems:
This is a very direct and uncomfortable question to ask. It requires an honest look at yourself. How do you know you aren’t blind to possible negative behavior traits that turn off your people? When was the last time you took a leadership assessment? Do you seek feedback from others about your leadership style? What information do you learn from exit interviews with people who leave your department? Feedback is an excellent source of awareness to improve your effectiveness.
If you suspect that you exhibit any of these ten despicable behaviors, turn those suspicions into genuine awareness and pursue sustainable change through coaching and behavior modification. Stewart Leadership's expert coaches can guide you through the process you need to pursue to become the boss everyone wants to work for. Let’s talk to discover if Executive Coaching is right for you.
SELF-CHECK: