10 Scariest Bosses: A Survival Guide
We explored multiple surveys and studies about bad bosses to assemble this rogue's gallery of the most reviled types of managers. Check out our 10 scariest bosses (complete with their own Halloween costumes), and consider our advice for how to deal with them.
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Being trapped in a job with a bad boss can be a horror story. You might find yourself wishing you could battle zombies or vampires instead of going to work each day. You might long for close enounters with ghosts rather than endless meetings with a soul-sucking, credit-stealing manager.
We explored multiple surveys and studies about bad bosses to assemble this rogue's gallery of the most reviled types of managers. Our sources include LaSalle Network, Gallup, and Harris Poll on behalf of Interact. To keep you from complete despair, we also used those studies -- as well as guidance from leadership experts -- to come up with ideas for how you might turn things around if you happen to work for one of these devils.
How important is this? According to LaSalle's survey of more than 1,100 workers, 87% of respondents said they have had a bad boss, and 51% said they had quit a job to get away from a bad boss. Likewise, more than half (54%) of the 7,200 adults responding to a Gallup poll said they had quit a job to get away from a manager.
[ Stop! Don't take that new job until you get these questions answered. ]
Even worse, a Workfront study that polled 2,000 adults -- 610 of whom were employed full time -- found that 65% of respondents believe bad bosses can have the most negative impact on work/life balance.
Here are some steps you can take to help your situation, no matter what kind of a bad boss you have:
Report them. More than half (55%) of respondents to the LaSalle survey who said they had a bad boss never reported it to leadership.
Talk to the boss. Only 27% of respondents to the Gallup poll said they strongly agree with the statement "I feel I can talk with my manager about non-work-related issues," and only 37% strongly agreed that they could talk with their manager about anything. But a little communication goes a long way. Those respondents who felt they could talk openly with their bosses also had the highest levels of engagement in their jobs.
Try to transfer within the company. According to LaSalle, 83% of respondents who had a bad boss would have happily transferred within their company if it was possible. Usually, it is the manager we’re angry with, not the company.
Check out our 10 scariest bosses (complete with their own Halloween costumes), and consider our advice for how to deal with them.
After you've read through the list, share your boss horror stories in the comments section below.
This is the boss who lurks in your peripheral vision (or your email inbox) but rarely materializes in the flesh. Disengaged managers mean disengaged employees. Only 35% of the 7,200 managers surveyed in the Gallup poll said they are engaged in their jobs. Even worse, 91% of the 1,000 workers surveyed by Harris Poll said communication issues can drag an executive down. So, what do you do with a boss who doesn't interact and seems like she isn't even there?
The best way to get a person re-engaged in a job is to help her see how she fits into the company's plans and strategy. That may not be something you can do for your boss (though asking your boss the question might help her figure it out).
Still, you might be able to get your boss engaged in you. Ask to schedule a regular meeting with your boss to discuss your needs. Engage your boss's boss. Without undermining your boss's authority, suggest regular meetings and other avenues of communication within your team. Encourage your boss to do the same.
By the way, according to Gallup, highly talented managers are more likely to be engaged with their workers and their jobs. In choosing your next job, look for an engaged manager. They are likely the best to work for.
This manager is far less concerned with you or your team and far more interested in playing politics. She has visions of "moving up" in her own career and has already abdicated her current responsibilities. When this manager ignores you, it's not from a lack of engagement. It's from a self-centered attitude.
The politician has one foot out the door, with eyes on another position within your company or a better gig somewhere else. Find out what she thinks she needs to get there, and find a way to help her do it. That will refocus her on her tasks as a manager and also give you an insight into what pressures she is getting from above. And, if you are interested in such a thing, it might give you a leg up on her job when she finally gets to the next rung of the ladder.
Here's a boss who couldn't give you direction if he had a yellow brick road to follow. According to Gallup, the majority of managers are miscast in the role. In fact, according to Gallup, organizations fail to choose the candidate with the right talent for the manager job 82% of the time. In fact, Gallup has found that only 10% of working people possess the right combination of talents to be a great manager. And another two out of 10 have enough talent to be a successful manager with the right coaching.
According to Gallup, "Companies use outdated notions of succession to put people in these roles: They base hiring and promotion decisions on individuals' past experience or tenure, or they give them the manager job as a 'reward' for their performance in a completely separate role. These organizations overlook talent, and when they do, they lose. They spend needless time and energy trying to fit square pegs into round holes."
How do you cope with a clueless boss? Learn to love it. "A clueless boss gives you a wide-open field," John Hoover said in this Forbes article. At first, the lack of direction is scary. But here's the key: Go over your boss's head and find out how he is supposed to fit into the company. Now, take that knowledge and do what you really want to do. Take initiative. Drive the change you want. All the while, the boss without direction will be happy someone is helping. A directionless boss is frightening at first. It is like running to the bridge of a sinking ship and finding out the captain is Daffy Duck. But it gives you a chance to grab the wheel.
One minute he's calm, the next minute he's howling at you. There is no situation in business where you deserve to be yelled at. No one should be treated that way -- no matter how many yelling NFL coaches get lauded as leaders. If you are being yelled at, don't stand for it. Report it to your boss's boss. Report it to HR. It is simply not OK.
Of course, that is the easy advice to give. Having the courage to report someone who has yelled at you is difficult. If you can't go to HR, there are standard practices to deal with people who yell. Try these 12 from Marie McIntyre, which include keeping a sense of humor, knowing you are the mature one, staying calm in the face of it, and other useful advice.
After a long and depressing monologue from Charlie Brown on his Christmas blues, Linus replied, "Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest."
If your boss is the Charlie Browniest, it may be because he is too focused on metrics. According to an article in Harvard Business Review by Case Western cognitive science professor Richard E. Boyatzis, negative people are too focused on metrics and tasks. This approach can get a lot done, but it eliminates innovation and is the least effective long-term management strategy, Boyatzis writes.
The best way to deal with this negative cycle, according to Boyatzis, is to think about a renewal process. Ask the manager how the place could be perfect in five or 10 years, and ask him how to get there. Sometimes that opens people up to positive ways of thinking.
Boyatzis cautions us to "remember that your boss didn't become a carrier of negativity overnight. Reversing it will take even longer. But brief chats about positive topics might, to paraphrase from Star Wars, 'Bring them to the light side of the force.' It is my experience that this approach will work 20%-30% of the time. And when it does, you will have rebuilt a positive relationship with your boss and helped him or her become an effective leader once again."
Why would a royal ever take blame when there is a peasant to blame? If you're getting blamed for something that isn't your fault, there's little you can do in the moment. Confronting your boss in that situation is usually going to lead to a conflict.
If it becomes a routine situation, here's some advice from Robert Hosking, executive director of staffing company OfficeTeam. In this Fortune article, Hosking says "Often everyone is so busy that things get overlooked or slip through the cracks. So begin each project with a written outline of who is responsible for what, and make sure everyone, including the boss, has a copy and signs off on it."
Beyond that, consider being prepared for the next time by having a solution in mind before you deliver a problem to your boss. Too many bosses "kill the messenger," no matter who is at fault. If you come to the boss with a problem and a solution, the boss is less likely to blame you and more likely to see you as a problem solver.
He never takes the blame but always takes the credit. While you might have to give the devil his due, your ideas are still your own. Dealing with a boss who is always taking credit for your ideas is a multi-step process.
1. Make sure the ideas really are only yours. You work on a team. Sometimes it is easy to forget ideas flow back and forth. Sometimes you have part of an idea, and someone else has another part. Your boss may be relaying the results of a collective effort.
2. If you're convinced your ideas are definitely being stolen, you can only do so much to reclaim the old ideas. Bring them up in performance reviews. Gently remind your boss of your ideas as opportunities present themselves.
3. Don't hesitate to self-promote among your peers. Share ideas with them. Not only will this help you expand the ideas with a receptive audience, but when the boss takes your ideas, the team knows where they came from.
4. Present new ideas in writing and copy your boss's boss as a "courtesy." That way you look proactive, and it's harder for your boss to steal credit.
This soul sucker cares nothing for your personal life, your work-life balance, or anything other than getting more work out of you. Since your immediate manager dictates your work-life balance even more than your overall company culture does, one of the best ways to work it out with your boss is to understand the corporate culture as a whole. If most other managers have more reasonable policies, it might help to appeal to the larger organizational cultures and expectations.
Another way to make it work is to set expectations. If it is Friday at 4 p.m. and your boss throws something new on your plate, ask her what task you should take off your plate or ask which task is the greater priority. If she says, "do both and stay late," and the tasks aren't obviously crucial, ask her why getting them done is such an emergency. Hopefully, this will make your concerns understood. Phrasing your questions this way, rather than saying "I have a date tonight," or "I was hoping to see my family," you are keeping it about the work. If the boss still doesn't get the hint, chances are she never will, and you need to consider changing your work situation.
Bosses are trained to think laughter is part of leadership. But the inappropriate joker who talks about race, gender, and other off-limits topics needs to be reported. Recent research shows that joking works best with teams that already have a good rapport. If you're uncomfortable with your boss's jokes, it might help to get to know him better. It might help you not to hate his jokes if you know a little more about where he comes from. Otherwise, if the joke is not funny, don't laugh. Eventually, even the worst clown takes the hint.
How many of these scary bosses have you had? Have any of them made you quit your job? Have you ever successfully transformed a bad boss into a good boss? If so, what magic did you use? Tell us your best (and worst) boss horror stories in the comments section below.
How many of these scary bosses have you had? Have any of them made you quit your job? Have you ever successfully transformed a bad boss into a good boss? If so, what magic did you use? Tell us your best (and worst) boss horror stories in the comments section below.
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