How to recognize a bad boss
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 4:29 am
Do you know those situations when a terribly annoying mosquito flies into your car and buzzes around your head, and there is no way you can throw it out the window or kill it? These are micromanagers. These bosses lack leadership qualities, do not understand the basics of management, and are convinced that the only way to demonstrate their managerial ability is by hanging over their people's heads and standing behind their backs.
He won't give you any chance to make your own decisions because you're not the boss, and he knows better than you (that's why he's the boss, and you're not). He won't let you finish your work in peace because he'll keep asking you about your progress, and maybe even ask you to provide reports on how you're doing.
When you finally hand in the work, he'll study it in detail, find ghana whatsapp list that only he can see, sigh deeply, and conclude that he should have done the work himself right away. It would have been faster, better, and more efficient.
Your boss wants his copy.
Doctor Evil had his Mini-Me, and so does your boss. You don't have to be physically the same, but it would be great if you started thinking the same, acting the same, doing the same, and everything the same except he's the boss and you're not.
Most people naturally gravitate towards those who are similar to them in certain characteristics because we get along well with such people. However, a good boss knows how to recognize different characters, and a great boss knows how to make the best use of those different characters.
A bad boss, on the other hand, despises anyone who is different from her or him, and if you can't become a copycat who doesn't think for themselves, you won't do well in a team led by a boss obsessed with his or her copies.
Your boss publicly criticizes
The first thing I noticed about the aforementioned hotel manager was that he criticized his people on several occasions in front of others and guests. You don't have to speak Spanish to understand that he was criticizing. Tone, color, volume of voice and facial expression are universal languages. As are the facial expressions of people who are listening to criticism of themselves and their work.
People make mistakes. Sometimes they don't understand the job properly. Sometimes they're not motivated enough or they're having a bad day. Sometimes the boss is a micromanager and nothing goes his way, and sometimes our ideas and ways of looking at work don't match.
Whatever the reason for dissatisfaction with an employee, public criticism is not permissible and speaks more about the person in a managerial position than about the employee who may not have performed the job satisfactorily.
Problems must be solved, but they are solved privately, one-on-one. Everything else only indicates that this is a manager with a lack of self-confidence who likes to show off his authority.
Your boss keeps changing his mind
The hotel manager demonstrated this trait several times in a very short period of time. First, he showed the waitress where to place the glasses, then he started waving his hands and pointing to another place, after which he ran his hands through his hair and moved them to a completely third location himself.
There are people who change their minds more often than socks, and if you have a boss like that, then you probably know how much of a problem it is. They'll give you one task in the morning, half an hour later you'll decide that something else is more important, by noon you'll be working on your 15th project of the day, and at the end of the workday it'll be clear to you that you've accomplished nothing from all that multitasking.
Who will be to blame for that? Certainly not your boss, but only you. Who is to blame for your inability to prioritize, manage time better, and read minds?
Your boss has violent mood swings.
If I, as a guest, noticed that the hotel manager was angry, nervous and out of sorts, then so did his team members. Many people have a hard time hiding their emotions, they show it on their faces, but also, when they are angry, many verbalize their anger loudly and clearly, regardless of their surroundings and where they are.
This is not only a sign of a lack of self-control but also of bad character, infantility, and a person who is not suited to a leadership position even if they possess the necessary qualifications.
He won't give you any chance to make your own decisions because you're not the boss, and he knows better than you (that's why he's the boss, and you're not). He won't let you finish your work in peace because he'll keep asking you about your progress, and maybe even ask you to provide reports on how you're doing.
When you finally hand in the work, he'll study it in detail, find ghana whatsapp list that only he can see, sigh deeply, and conclude that he should have done the work himself right away. It would have been faster, better, and more efficient.
Your boss wants his copy.
Doctor Evil had his Mini-Me, and so does your boss. You don't have to be physically the same, but it would be great if you started thinking the same, acting the same, doing the same, and everything the same except he's the boss and you're not.
Most people naturally gravitate towards those who are similar to them in certain characteristics because we get along well with such people. However, a good boss knows how to recognize different characters, and a great boss knows how to make the best use of those different characters.
A bad boss, on the other hand, despises anyone who is different from her or him, and if you can't become a copycat who doesn't think for themselves, you won't do well in a team led by a boss obsessed with his or her copies.
Your boss publicly criticizes
The first thing I noticed about the aforementioned hotel manager was that he criticized his people on several occasions in front of others and guests. You don't have to speak Spanish to understand that he was criticizing. Tone, color, volume of voice and facial expression are universal languages. As are the facial expressions of people who are listening to criticism of themselves and their work.
People make mistakes. Sometimes they don't understand the job properly. Sometimes they're not motivated enough or they're having a bad day. Sometimes the boss is a micromanager and nothing goes his way, and sometimes our ideas and ways of looking at work don't match.
Whatever the reason for dissatisfaction with an employee, public criticism is not permissible and speaks more about the person in a managerial position than about the employee who may not have performed the job satisfactorily.
Problems must be solved, but they are solved privately, one-on-one. Everything else only indicates that this is a manager with a lack of self-confidence who likes to show off his authority.
Your boss keeps changing his mind
The hotel manager demonstrated this trait several times in a very short period of time. First, he showed the waitress where to place the glasses, then he started waving his hands and pointing to another place, after which he ran his hands through his hair and moved them to a completely third location himself.
There are people who change their minds more often than socks, and if you have a boss like that, then you probably know how much of a problem it is. They'll give you one task in the morning, half an hour later you'll decide that something else is more important, by noon you'll be working on your 15th project of the day, and at the end of the workday it'll be clear to you that you've accomplished nothing from all that multitasking.
Who will be to blame for that? Certainly not your boss, but only you. Who is to blame for your inability to prioritize, manage time better, and read minds?
Your boss has violent mood swings.
If I, as a guest, noticed that the hotel manager was angry, nervous and out of sorts, then so did his team members. Many people have a hard time hiding their emotions, they show it on their faces, but also, when they are angry, many verbalize their anger loudly and clearly, regardless of their surroundings and where they are.
This is not only a sign of a lack of self-control but also of bad character, infantility, and a person who is not suited to a leadership position even if they possess the necessary qualifications.