Boss Horror Story #1

Boss Horror Story #1

Today is the first boss horror story that I'd like to tell you about. I'm not here to shoot down a former boss of mine, but rather provide characteristics on what made the boss less effective. So, today is boss #1 from the first job I had.

Here are some of the characteristics that made boss #1 an unhealthy leader:

1. The boss was pushy.
   
   My first boss, which was a third tier manager (meaning there were two managers tiered above her). She was actually rather pushy in almost any request she made to me and a few other co-workers. She actually was nice to her "friends", but mean to other people.In the world of business, either everyone's your "friend" (meaning you're a kind leader) or everyone's your "enemy". It's all in the mindset. If you play favorites, there will be a lot of issues.
   
   Being pushy with your requests to other people, as a leader, is not only wrong, but identifies many insecurities. If you have to push people around to get them to do things, then it's clear you have some past problems with people, or you're not a good leader. Time to get some better leadership skills.
2. She made me feel like a monster.
   
   Whenever I decided to take leadership roles, by being assigned different tasks to do on a daily basis and make sure everyone else gets theirs done, she was always checking on me to make sure I was checking on them. Then, she would criticize me (negatively) and talk me down.
   
   One day, she walked to my area while I was talking to other co-workers, and I stood her up in front of them. Was this a kind move? Maybe. But, the point of doing that was to make sure that the other people there knew I had a conflict with her, and we would try to band together to resolve the conflict. By understanding where the mistaken leadership was, I helped my other co-workers see her flaws in the open. This would identify her favoritism.
   
   Was it a good idea? Maybe. I don't necessarily recommend standing up your boss, unless they're abusing you. You may lose your job, but in the end it taught them a lesson: don't walk on people! Did I get fired? No. She knew where the flaw was, and she pointed the finger to herself.
3. She couldn't handle her own problems.
   
   She decided to talk to the other managers and get the owners involved, which they told me that I was replaceable. I guess no one saw my leadership there. They couldn't outsmart me, as I immediately identified the flaws of this manager, and we come up with a plan to work around those flaws.
   
   If she would've tried to handle the problem with me herself, we may not have had to get other managers involved.

All in all, poor leadership skills are easy to identify. If you're willing to tolerate them, or if you find you have some flaws to repair, know this: keep an open ear to opportunity, improve your skills (especially leadership), and seek help from coaches when you need it (like me, I'm a coach).

Any comments on bad bosses? Post below!