I am sure we have all experienced an ineffective manager (also known as the bad boss) at one point in our professional lives. The bad boss does exist and is still alive and well in many of today’s work environments. Bad bosses drive good employees to your competition, keep under-performing employees in place and slowly but surely alienate customers and team members. Based on my experiences, below are the top four ways that ineffective managers alienate employees.
1. They apply the “do as I say, not as I do” mentality.
Ineffective managers do not lead by example. Their behaviors do not support the mission, vision or standards for the organization or the department. Bad bosses talk at their employees rather than with them. They demand and command excellence without modeling the behaviors it takes for employees to be successful.
Effective managers know that the single most effective way to impact behavior is to be the role model and lead by example in all that they do. Employees don’t always listen to what you say, instead they watch how you behave. The effective manager understands that their behavior directly impacts the behavior of their employees.
2. They only talk to employees when there is a problem.
The ineffective manager prefers to stay in his/her office, behind closed doors. That way they don’t have to interact or deal with their employees. The only time you hear from the bad boss is when you screwed something up. Only then are they quick to communicate with you. When an employee gets pulled into the office everyone on the team knows that he/she is in trouble.
An effective manager knows that consistent and performance based feedback is an on-going and necessary process. They understand that employees learn from the things they do well instead of the mistakes they make. The effective manager has frequent conversations with employees that balance positive as well as developmental feedback.
3. It is clear who the “favorite” employee is.
The ineffective manager clearly has favorites on his/her team. They often get rewarded with easier projects, long lunches, preferential treatment and can be found in the bosses office on the rare occasion that their door is actually open. The bad boss does not hold these folks accountable and often excuses performance issues.
The effective manager does not have any favorites on the team. They value each and every team member for the strengths and opportunities they bring to the team. They share the work load and are consistent in their feedback and behaviors across the board. You exceed the expectation, you get recognition. You don’t meet the expectation, they will coach you. The effective manager sees the potential in all employees and works with everyone to harness that potential.
4. They consistently violate the core values of the organization.
Most organizations have standards and core values that apply to how they do business, interact with others and serve as the guiding principles for all that they do. Bad bosses blatantly ignore the poster on the wall in their area outlining the core values. Clearly those apply to everyone else and not them. Their behaviors are in direct opposition to what the company stands for. As a result employees are confused and become disengaged.
The effective manager believes in, lives and demonstrates the core values of the organization in all their interactions. Again the effective manager knows that they must behave and model the expectations if they expect their employees to do the same.
I realize that these 4 examples only scratch the surface of how ineffective managers alienate employees. We could probably write a book on 1 million ways to alienate employees! What experiences have you had with a bad boss? What would you add to the list?
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Kelly,
I’d have to say the boss that takes credit for everything and blame for nothing. We’ve all seen the insecure type who is afraid of others’ success. rather than encouraging and developing the leadership and management skills below them, they stifle them. They are so wrapped up in themselves that they don’t realize that they are only limiting their own growth in the long run.
Good Job!
Marty
Hi Marty,
You are spot on! There are many managers out there that are quick to take the credit and even quicker to place blame. When they do this they lose trust and respect and do further alienate their employees.
Personally I have never understood the manager that stifles their employees, doesn’t help to develop their skills and is only concerned about themselves. I wrote a post on this a few months ago. Employees performance, success and contributions are a direct reflection of the manager. It’s in everyone’s best interests to build your employees up, recognize and unleash their potential and prepare them to take your job. Yes, take your job! Effective managers aren’t afraid that others will take their job, they actually encourage it. A clear sign of an effective leader is someone who helps others.
Thank you for contribution and adding to the conversation! I am sure others have experienced what you pointed out.
Kelly
One of the best parts of my job is that I get to see both sides of these equations: the manager’s side and how it affects the employees. I also get to play the “devil’s advocate”. I want to speak a little bit to your 3rd point. I’ve been in the “favorite employee” category, which of course, who could blame me? I was an awesome employee! All joking aside, it put a major strain on my position. I was viewed as the “favorite” by my peers who really didn’t trust me because I was so close to the manager. I was also placed in a position of being there for the manager as a sounding board. I was forced to play a peer to the manager instead of a subordinate. This made me responsible for unrealistic expectations. It eventually caused me a lot of anxiety that resulted in underperformance. Although I was underperforming, I was allowed to get away with it because, as I mentioned, I was the favorite. This really didnt’ do me any favors. In fact, I learned a lot of bad habits, and as a result learned how to be an ineffective manager myself. I emulated the behavior I learned from my manager by example. Thankfully I changed, but not without a lot of redirection, coaching and growth.
Best, Jake
Nice post Kelly. I’m sure this issue will attract a lot of competition as to who has the best example of a worst boss!
I would like to add the manager who doesn’t spot the potential in their employees and doesn’t allow them development opportunities. This ties in with what you were saying to Marty: “build your employees up, recognize and unleash their potential and prepare them to take your job”. It is my view that all employees, whatever the industry, should be allowed some form of personal development, whether it be through formal training, management/supervisor training or something as simple as a job rotation. There are managers out there though who see their employees as being there to perform the same easy, mundane tasks day after day. A good manager, in my opinion, will see the strengths and weaknesses in their employees and always try to push them that bit farther out of their comfort zone in order to develop them and allow them the opportunity to show what they can do. This must be accompanied also by allowing them the time to support, coach and feedback to them.
This manager is probably also the type of manager who only tells their employees what to do and doesn’t seek or listen to their opinions or ideas. This damages employee morale and loses the benefit of the understanding your employees acquire about your customers through the face to face contact they have with them day-in-day-out. Your employees pick up knowledge about what makes your customers happy and what makes them not so happy, so an effective manager should be actively seeking out their opinions, experiences and ideas. This also fits nicely with the post you wrote a few days ago about the “break up”. If a manager doesn’t listen to their employees, the “break up” with both employees and customer may come sooner rather than later!
Thanks for a great post Kelly.
Jed
What a great resource!
Hi Jake,
You bring up some very interesting points on the favorite employee syndrome. This type of relationship between the manager and employee can serve a purpose for a period of time. However, in the end no one benefits from this type of dynamic as you pointed out. The favorite employee is challenged by managing the relationships with their team members and the manager. Resentment among team members begins to creep in and impacts the group dynamic. As you also indicated the favorite employee is in an impossible position with the manager being treated as the peer while being the subordinate. Another factor that plays a role is the lack of accountability. As a result the manager loses respect and trust among the rest of the team and unfortunately so does the employee.
While being the favorite employee can have its benefits it also has just as many drawbacks. Often times the favorite employee has not asked for and does not want to be the favorite especially as challenges in the work environment begin to unfold. I am thrilled to hear that you were able to use this experience as a learning opportunity and apply it in your future management endeavors.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I am sure many people have found themselves in a similar situation.
Best wishes,
Kelly
Hi Jed,
You are so right, managers will alienate employees when they don’t seek to use their talents appropriately or challenge them to grow. It is a leaders responsibility to help their employees recognize and leverage their potential. Some managers don’t challenge their employees for fear of not being liked. After all when you are challenging peoples comfort zones, they aren’t always going to like you. A managers responsibility to their team is not to be liked but to generate respect by recognizing in them what others have failed to.
I also agree with your point that ineffective managers focus on the command and control method to manage staff. They talk at their staff and tell them what to do. This does not generate buy-in or motivate employees to put their best efforts into their work. Effective managers are inquisitive and promote discussions with their employees. They find out what’s working, what’s not and what the employee thinks the solution may be. The employees experience with their manager does directly impact the customers experience with that employee. Organizations that understand this relationship will promote a culture where effective managers engage employees and as a result will have engaged customers.
I appreciate you taking the time to share your point of view. I am sure it will resonate with many of our readers.
Cheers!
Kelly
Check out Jed’s blog on Customer Service, Social Media and Training at: http://jedlangdon.com/
Kelly,
You wrote employees are alienated by bosses when “they only talk to employees when there is a problem.”
It is so easy to let what hasn’t been done yet overshadow the good that has been done. I find that considering the context of my encounters with people helps keep me balanced. For example, if I meet you in the hall it might be, “how are the kids?”
If we are having lunch, it may be, “you are doing a great job with….”
If its a project meeting there are both past and forward looking comments, problems, solutions, corrections, and affirmation.
What’s bad is ambushing someone in the hall with a problem! So, for me, letting the context have some influence over the content of communication helps.
Thank you for your thoughtful work.
Leadership Freak
Dan Rockwell
Hi Dan,
Context definitely plays an important role in communication and feedback. It’s critical for managers to provide that balanced feedback to employees and knowing when and where to discuss that feedback is key. Often times the context will impact the employees response to the feedback you are providing. Managers can’t wait for 2 months or until the performance review to provide performance based feedback. It has got to be a consistent and daily practice. Of course I am a big believer in praising in public and providing developmental feedback in private. Just say no to the hallway ambush!
Thanks for adding to the discussion, I always appreciate your insights!
Kelly
Dan helps leaders reach higher in 300 words or less. Check out his blog at:
http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/
What a great resource!
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