Horrible bosses and how to handle them
Whether you have one or you are one, there are ways to fix things
● Every employee has had a bad boss … someone who is a bully, picky, petty, rude, lacking in social skills and integrity, who fails to communicate, is arrogant, prideful, inflexible, thinks they are always right, breaks promises, is dishonest and never provides positive feedback — an egomaniac who believes they are smarter than everyone else.
Nothing is more destructive in the workplace than a difficult boss. It is no surprise, then, that employees who quit are most often leaving their bosses, not necessarily the company or the job.
For me, a bad boss is one who speaks loudly, rudely and one-sidedly to staff; is loath to deal with difficult situations; plays favourites; is unprincipled and untrustworthy; misrepresents the truth and tells lies; covers up and makes excuses for the poor work of their incompetent sycophants; and is a downright dictator.
If you associate your boss with the above characteristics, or you are a boss who has them, then you probably weren’t surprised by the testimony of Phumla Williams, acting director-general of the Government Communication & Information System (GCIS), at the state capture inquiry on how Faith Muthambi, one of former president Jacob Zuma’s controversial ministerial appointees, had mistreated and virtually tortured her.
Williams described her situation thus: “I was no longer sleeping, I had nightmares. My facial twitches were back. I had panic attacks. I saw torture going through my body again. I never thought in this government people could do such things.”
Bad bosses create fear, uncertainty, doubt, inefficiency, morale problems and even chaos.
Employees are never quite sure where they are going and how they are going to get there.
If you are a bad boss
If you are a boss who matches the above descriptions, who ignores an employee until there are problems; someone who takes credit for the successes and accomplishments of your employees even though you yourself are unqualified for the job either by your skills or your experience, then why are you hellbent on the “Muthambification” of the workplace?
It is a mistake for managers, supervisors and CEOs to ignore — and fail to act on — the characteristics of bad bosses.
Every manager would be well served to review their behaviour to see if they are doing the necessary things to bring out the best in people. The key question is: what specific things am I doing to be a great leader?
A good boss guides and mentors employees to develop their personal and professional goals
Leadership is not about bullying; it is about building and maintaining relationships. The attitude of the leader should be one of service to the employee, with the goal of providing guidance, support, leadership and the tools to do the job.
A good boss guides and mentors employees to develop their personal and professional goals. They provide employees with an understanding of their role. A lot has to do with personality, and people respond differently to different types of people. A lot of that is chemistry.
Dealing with a bad boss
Everybody I know has had a bad boss at one time or another. I, too, have had my fair share. Indeed, I have had some really great bosses and lousy bosses. I took from what I’ve appreciated about my good bosses.
In a perfect world, you wouldn’t have to worry about protecting yourself from bad bosses, but we live in a world filled with many different personalities.
My advice to employees who’ve had conflicts with their bosses is simply to do the job for which you were hired to the best of your ability. To try to keep personalities out of it.
I have worked hard to achieve the desired levels of performance, regardless of my boss.
Remember that the probability of your changing your boss’s behaviour and leadership style is low. Any changes will probably have to come from you, either through your work behaviour or by you changing jobs.
Some say it is not easy to confront a bad boss — it’s much easier to walk away — but people do themselves no justice by walking away. You need to confront the problem with meaningful dialogue.
In these challenging economic times, it may not be that easy to simply brush up your résumé and move on, even though continuing to work for a bad boss can be a career-damaging experience that sucks the joy out of life.
For starters, talk to your boss. Ask for feedback, and explain that you need their support to be the best you can be at your job.
Be polite and don’t speak in anger or let emotions take control of the conversation. After all, the worst thing you can do is act the same way as your bad boss, such as shouting back at them. Don’t mimic the traits you don’t like to see.
Evidence is king, so keep a journal of every incident and seek to resolve matters as soon as possible.
Keeping an account of conversations with your boss is a good idea, especially when it comes to dealing with someone with whom you don’t quite see eye to eye.
If necessary, use the human resources department to seek guidance, and ask for mediation.
It is important to note that bad bosses have a collection of ineffective leadership practices as well as a host of personality and character maladies.
Bad bosses can do a great deal of damage to an organisation, but they are a reality of organisational life.
Focusing on the job, not the conflict, is best when dealing with the boss.
Mkhondo heads The Media and Writers Firm, a ghost-writing and content development and reputation management hub