Warning: bad manager

WHILE waiting for the elevator recently, I heard a woman shouting at the head of security because, apparently, he did not recognize her. It turns out she was an executive and she was already late for a meeting, and she created a scene in the reception area where there were applicants and clients. Later that day, I saw her laughing and joking with the rest of the management team. She really had a reputation for throwing her weight around, especially those below her. Needless to say, I have discovered, people do not stay with her for more than a year—they either transfer or resign.

Every organization has at least one of these managers—bad managers who lord it over everybody else, or who do not know what they are doing and mask it with threats and aggression. Some like being in power and letting everybody know who the boss is. Some are first-time managers who bully everyone into submission, while others have no one to look up to for the kind of leadership that helps people become the best version of themselves.

There are several indicators to know if you are one of these managers. One indicator is when you publicly shame your team members and do not recognize or praise them. No one wants to work with someone who puts them in a bad light. As their manager, your role is to protect them from other managers who might take advantage of them. During meetings with other departments, stand behind your team members. If you do not agree with them, talk to them afterwards. But do not be the first to criticize them in front of other managers.

Nobody likes a know-it-all. If you are a manager who does not acknowledge your mistakes or do anything to remedy them, chances are, you have lost some of your team’s respect. A good leader takes accountability for their team and their actions. Your team loses their respect for you when you take credit for their success but shift the blame to others for your shortcomings.

To be a good leader, give credit where credit is due and do it publicly. Acknowledge people’s contributions to the success of the team, and always find ways to instill in your team that the success of one is the success of everyone. After all, when other departments and offices look at your team, they do not see individual members but the team as a whole. Establish that mindset for your team and you will be surprised with how they will have each other’s back, and how they will also protect you.

Bad managers also do not listen to their team. Do not wait for people to resign before you start listening. One of the biggest mistakes people managers make is that they do not invest time in getting to know their people. Bad managers think they can do it alone. Good managers understand that to succeed, work needs to be done through people. And to understand how to influence people to work in the same direction, you need to listen to them.

Be aware of your own biases when you listen. Your role as a leader is to deliberately assess your team’s recommendations and put it in a context where your team understands what needs to be done against what they want. Employee feedback is crucial in understanding their sentiments, and puts you in a better position to influence them. Finding the right balance of pulling and pushing your team entails getting to know their motivations and aspirations so you can influence their work toward a common goal.

And then there are managers who focus too much on what went wrong more than what could be done. As a leader, your role is to steer the team towards success. Thinking negatively is like an anchor weighing everybody down even if everybody paddles in the same direction. Focus on getting things done, not on self-pity or unproductive reflection.

Bad managers also have no clear direction for the team. To be agile in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, there is a need to be adaptive. But when the team is not willing to follow or finds it hard to follow your lead, there is something wrong. And since they do not have a clear direction of where they are headed, these bad managers also cannot give clear guidance or constructive feedback on the work of individual members.

Avoid this by taking the time to plan with your team on how to accomplish set goals for the year, quarterly, or even monthly if needed. Team members need to understand how they contribute to the overall success of the team and how their efforts are translated into personal achievements. When people find meaning in what they do and their efforts are acknowledged, they are more likely to be motivated to get to the next project.

Another trait of a bad manager is when they do not motivate their team to do their best. Or their way of doing so is to scream, shout, or pull rank just so people will do whatever they want. If you are this manager, you need to stop. You are dealing with professionals, so act like one. Team members reflect their leader. There are better ways of motivating your team to do their work than being a bully.

Bad managers also play favorites and end up with an unbalanced work distribution. To avoid this, show what everybody else is doing if you can. You can also partner the efficient ones with those who are struggling so people can teach each other on best practices. This also helps people develop camaraderie and engenders a sense of community where everybody watches everybody’s back.

A big part of being a good manager is understanding where your people are coming from, respecting their professional expertise, and harnessing the energies and talents of a group of people toward a common purpose. Bad managers focus on what is in it for them. Good managers focus on what is in it for the whole team.