It is not because we occupy a managerial position that we are necessarily good at our work… How do we spot signs of a bad manager?
We are used to relying on and trusting our superior’s decisions. However, not all bosses are competent managers. How to distinguish the good grain from the bad?In short how to spot signs of a bad manager?
A blog post by Scott Cochrane gives 5 signs to unmask a bad manager.
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Self-centeredness
The egocentric manager will tend to treat his employees as a commodity rather than as a human. He tries to use them to achieve his own ends. Rather than focusing on the needs of the business, the egocentric leader sees no further than the tip of his nose and looks down on everything and everyone in relation to himself.
So if you have a boss who is content to do the minimum amount of work, who never congratulates his employees, and who seems to not give a damn about others, perhaps he suffers from acute egocentrism!
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Stubbornness
The stubborn manager imposes an idea regardless of what the rest of his team thinks, even when the idea in question has been refuted by many. He will not change his mind and he will ignore the opinion of his engineers in the balance.
In addition to being unpleasant, this behavior can be very dangerous, since the opinion of engineers can have a big impact on the safety of a project!
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Volubility
Bad managers sometimes have little self-confidence, and it shows in the number of words they say per second. Indeed, leaders with little confidence feel obliged to constantly justify themselves, to prove that they are important, and ceaselessly rant about everything and nothing in the hope of reassuring everyone.
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Friendliness
The insecurity of bad bosses can also lead to flattery. By not wanting to disappoint anyone, some bosses will say “yes” to everything and will agree with everyone. Of course, this leads to contradictions, which obviously hinders everyone’s work. A good leader must when to say “no”.
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The defensive attitude
Finally, bad leaders, when they have little self-confidence, react very negatively to the opposition, even when it is presented in a respectful manner. They may even let go, and start to disrespect their colleagues. But there is a silver lining to this facet of their personality: they discredit themselves completely and become easy to unmask.
Does your boss fall into one of these categories?
Did you not recognize yourself in this description of the bad manager? Perhaps you are ready to become the manager of your firm?
