Not all really bad managers are the same. Some overmanage; some undermanage. Some are bullies or dictators, others are too palsy with the staff. Knowing that, I’ve identified ten primary types of really bad managers and their common traits. Recognize any of these folks?
The Micromanager
Micromanagers might be the most common and most damaging type of really bad managers. Micromanagers stifle employee initiative, discourage innovation, and demoralize employees who tire of constant monitoring and supervision.
Micromanagers tend to share these toxic traits:
- The monitor everything, typically requesting frequent reports and sometimes even installing surveillance software on their employees’ computers; they hover and question and are constantly in their employees’ business
- They focus on process instead of results, often obsessively; how you do something is more important than actually doing it well
- They don’t think strategically; they can’t see the forest for the trees
- They refuse to delegate, because they can do everything better than their staff can
- They insist that employees always do things their way; they refuse to accept alternative approaches
In short, micromanagers overmanage. They don’t trust their employees, so they try to manage all their activities in an intrusive manner.
The Dictator
A dictator rules their department with an iron fist. They brook no dissent and accept no input. They want things done their way or else. Employees become nothing more than pawns to the dictator’s demands
Dictators tend to share these toxic traits:
- They change everything when they come on board, for no good reason, typically disrupting even the most well-oiled machines
- They are extremely inflexible—it’s their way or the highway
- They ignore employee feedback because, to them, employees don’t matter
- They also don’t provide feedback to their employees; they just want to give orders, not explain why
- They don’t recognize or reward good behavior from their employees
Because of their forceful management style, dictators may achieve impressive results—initially. They eventually drive away good employees and refuse to change and evolve over time.
The Glory Hound
Glory hounds are in it for themselves. They are not team players, they’re only seeking to make themselves look good and advance their own careers—and the expense of anyone who works for them or gets in their way.
You can recognize a glory hound by these toxic traits:
- They are power hungry, always striving to advance in the organization
- They make it all about themselves, never recognizing the contributions of their staff
- They like to take credit for others’ work
- They focus on blame rather than solutions
- They avoid responsibility; they want the glory without doing the hard work
In short, glory hounds are all about themselves, not about others. They want to look good and advance in the organization, at the expense of anyone who gets in their way.
The Bully
Bullies in the business world are no different and no better than bullies in high school. They get their way by pushing others around, threatening them, and putting them down for no reason other than to intimidate others and get their way.
You’ll recognize a bully by these toxic traits:
- They create a culture of fear, the better to rule with an iron fist
- They focus solely on the negative, never praising anyone other than themselves
- They are mean to their employees (they are bullies, after all)
- They treat their employees like servants; they seek to demean others to make themselves look more important and powerful
- They like to play favorites—and discriminate against those who don’t go along with them
Bullies are all about power and putting others down. They’re not working for their team or the larger organization, only for themselves.
The Slave Driver
Slave drivers don’t care about their employees. They only care about getting the most work possible out of their staff. The only thing important is what gets done, not how it gets done; many slave drivers are interested only in productivity, not actual results.
The most common toxic traits of slave drivers include:
- They lack empathy; they simply don’t care how others feel
- They ignore their employees’ work-life balance
- They tend to throw new employees in the deep end without proper training; they want results from day one
- They overwork their employees, often asking for more than 8-hour days and expecting lots of overtime work
- They set unrealistic expectation; they want results and they don’t care how they’re achieved
To a slave driver, employees aren’t human beings, they’re just tools to be used and then discarded. They use people up and toss them aside when they burn out.
The Ghost
Ghost managers are more notable for their absence than their presence. Ghosts stay out of the way but never provide useful feedback or criticism. They communicate poorly if at all and are never available when their employees need them.
Here are some of the most common toxic traits of a ghost manager:
- They are often completely absent; you never see them
- They typically are poor communicators—if they communicate at all
- They are often totally uninvolved with projects—but then swoop in at the last minute and change everything
- They don’t make themselves available to others; it’s next to impossible to schedule a meeting with a person who isn’t there
- They don’t insulate their employees from the whims of upper management
Ghost managers might as well not be there at all. They contribute little and, when they do parachute in, tend to mess up things that were previously in progress. They provide little to no help or guidance to their employees.
The Underminer
Underminers behave in ways that undermine not only the work of their employees but also the success of the organization. It’s almost as if they’re deliberately working to sabotage the members of their team and the organization as a whole.
Consider these toxic traits of undermining managers:
- They make bad hiring decisions—and bad hires become bad employees
- They don’t develop their staff; they provide little or no training or guidance
- They don’t support their team; in fact, underminers often trash talk the people who work for them
- They ignore the company culture, choosing to do things their way even if it contradicts what the company prefers and stands for
- They don’t coordinate with other departments and teams; they tend to be lone wolves
Underminers don’t care what others think or even how the organization works. They actively work to make situations as bad as possible.
The Undecider
Undeciders are indecisive to a fault. They can’t or won’t make decisions, small or large. They either don’t know what to do or are too timid to commit to a decision or viewpoint.
These indecisive individuals tend to share the following toxic traits:
- They avoid conflict
- They avoid making decisions
- They are pushovers—that is, they easily change opinions and direction if someone pushes hard enough on them
- They can’t say “no” to anyone—employees, customers, upper management, you name it
- They behave inconsistently
Undeciders blow the way the wind blows, without strong opinions of their own. Employees of an undecider are often left flapping in the wind, without any real direction, subject to the whims of others.
The Unprofessional
Unprofessional managers behave in ways that are antithetical to a professional business. They break the rules, they push boundaries, they don’t care if what they do is right or wrong. They are often politically incorrect and prone to abusing their staff.
Unprofessional managers tend to exhibit the following toxic traits:
- They do not behave in a professional manner
- They often participate in gossip culture
- They are often unethical, bending and breaking the rules
- They sometimes hit on other staff members
- They can be sexist, racist, and worse
Unprofessionals are, in a word, unprofessional. They tend to be boorish brutes who can quickly tarnish the reputation of the entire organization.
The Blunderer
Not all really bad managers are ill intentioned; some are simply incompetent. Blunderers don’t know what they’re doing and thus do everything poorly. Blunderers make bad decisions and lots of them. They are often so incompetent they don’t realize how incompetent they really are—or the damage they’re causing.
Here’s how to recognize a blunderer:
- They are incompetent; they make a lot of mistakes
- They lack focus and vision
- They often let the inmates run the asylum; they are incapable of taking charge of their team
- They are typically disorganized
- They regularly make bad decisions
To be fair, not all blunderers are naturally incompetent. Some haven’t received proper management training. Some simply don’t possess the proper skill sets to be successful managers. Some have been overpromoted into their level of incompetence. But all blunderers make lots of mistakes and can harm not only their employees but the entire organization.
How Do You Deal with a Really Bad Manager?
Now that you know how to recognize the different types of really bad managers, how do you deal with them? That’s a totally different topic, and one we’ll continue to address in posts to this Really Bad Manager Blog!
