Which Bad Boss Are You?

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 27, 2008 -
Small start-up companies often require a dominant authoritative figure as they move through the initial stages of building processes and infrastructure.  With uncertainty everywhere and many decisions to be made, a dictatorship is more efficient than the paralysis that can result in trying to achieve group consensus.  However, when the business stabilizes and seeks to grow, imperial management styles become a liability as team morale is low and employee turnover constantly robs the company of experience.  Amazingly, many bad bosses don’t even realize that they are the problem, according to Jodie Shaw, Director of Marketing at ActionCOACH- the number one business coaching firm in the world.

“Business owners get caught up in running their businesses,” Shaw said.  “The complex and diverse responsibilities of business ownership increase almost imperceptibly until the owner is overworked and stressed out.  Unfortunately, employees may not feel the same pressure to succeed.  They are willing to work hard; and they are loyal, and willing to fulfill assigned job duties efficiently, but a bad boss can sap even the most dedicated employee’s motivation.”

Researchers at Purdue University studied overbearing bosses and determined that unreasonable bosses relish power and control.  Some take it a step further and actually enjoy wielding that power – to the point that their demands may not make sense to the employees.  The researchers identified four general types of bad bosses.

The Control Freak
Controllers demand that things be done their way.  They want what they want, when they want it.  Many times, the very unreasonableness of this bad boss’s demands suggests that they only want to flex their ownership muscle.

Over Analyzer
This boss is consumed by a need to know every possible detail.  The company suffers as they delay critical decisions in their frantic search for often irrelevant details.  Employees suffer this boss’ continual demands for more facts and figures.  

The Flash
Unrestrained enthusiasm and optimism are the curse of this boss.  The Flash has a salesperson’s attitude – always excited about the next big deal or project.  But don’t ask about the details, the Flash boss gets it started then loses interest.  Employees quickly tire of cleaning up after this boss.

Your Friend
Concern for the employees’ welfare is nice, but not to the detriment of the company.  Most employees are willing to work late or over a weekend on occasion, if it means the company is healthy and their jobs secure.  The Friendly boss jeopardizes everyone’s income with loose controls and misplaced priorities.

If any of these bosses sound familiar, Shaw recommends the services of a competent Business Coach to attack the problem at the root – that huge workload.  By delegating non-critical administrative tasks, the owner/boss has time to step back and review the organization.

A Business Coach can teach them the art of delegation and how it can be done effectively to ensure the owner is working “on” the business rather than “in” the business.