Most likely, at least at one place of work you came across a bad boss — aggressive, two-faced, or simply doubting everything. Recognizing such a person at the interview stage can be quite difficult. Worst of all, if you come across one of the following types — each of them is sure that he is definitely an excellent leader.
1. Rescuer
At first, it may seem to you that you are very lucky with the boss. If problems arise in the work on some project, he simply stands at the helm. Conflict with a client? The boss takes the hit and resolves the issue on his own.
Peter Block, author of the book Perfect Consulting, believes that the Rescuer is extremely susceptible to any discomfort and is sure that «the path to power, influence and control over the situation is to save the lives of other people.»
Such a boss seems to be saving you from failure. The problem, however, is that he does not know how to give honest feedback and does not expand your area of responsibility. “He prides himself on being always ready to support you, however, you have no chance not only to make a mistake, but also to grow.”
2. Politician
Such a person perfectly manages his own bosses — people who are above him on the corporate ladder. He knows how to make the right impression on them, but is completely incapable of managing his subordinates. He creates great PR for your team, but lacks the skills to be your true leader.
“Everyone in the company is aware of what outstanding results your team has achieved, and you should give credit to your boss for that. But the problem is that he never meets with you, you can’t get adequate feedback from him, he doesn’t work shoulder to shoulder with you, ”explains Lara Hogan, author of the book Resilient Management.
“In the long run, this is a real disaster,” says Hogan. “Such a person does not cope with his primary task, does not delve into the work process and finds out about possible problems and difficulties too late.”
What if your manager fits this description? Try to build rapport with your boss’s peers, people with power and authority who could help you if needed. Enlist their support and the opportunity to receive feedback from them. Let people inside the company know who is actually doing the work and how.
3. Bad PR
Unlike the Politician, such a boss leads his team perfectly, but does not know how to communicate with his own leadership. He believes in your work, but he cannot convey to others what you are doing and what your success is.
“This leader is really involved in the work process. He knows how to listen, you trust him, and he trusts you,” explains Hogan. “And then it turns out that the company’s management has no idea about your projects and achievements.” As a result, you do not get a promotion, you may be deprived of funding or interesting promising projects.
4. Podhalim
This type of boss is confident that in order to move forward, you must give others what they want, even when there is a risk of losing the trust of your team. Or rather, not even “give”, but “promise”: usually everything is limited to just words, and as a result you don’t get anything.
Such a boss always tries to be nice and pleasant, glosses over real problems and tries not to criticize anyone. This means that neither the project nor you personally are moving anywhere.
5. Master of Numbers
To make the slightest decision, such a leader needs data — numbers, calculations, forecasts, analytics. It requires that each hypothesis be carefully tested. Very often, this significantly slows down or completely slows down the workflow.
“A person obsessed with detailed information has no long-term plan — only short-term, based on calculations; no vision for the future,” Hogan comments. He can demand creativity from his subordinates, but is it possible to give birth to creative, non-standard solutions if each of them must be confirmed mathematically?
6. Lone wolf
Such a person is in dire need of autonomy, and it is not easy for him or her to interact closely with others. As subordinates, such a boss prefers to see self-confident, independent employees.
The disadvantage of working under him is that he often changes plans at the last minute, and this creates tension within the team. Even if the team unanimously makes a decision, such a boss can single-handedly “retake” it.
7. Vseznayka
All decisions of such a person are based solely on his own knowledge, and in general he judges everything by himself: “if I were you, I would not do this”, “it took me only three months to complete a similar project.” This means that when his information is not enough or it is incorrect, the case can come to a standstill.
Ideally, the Know-It-All dreams of clone subordinates, exact copies of himself. He is sure that your career should develop in the same way as his developed, completely ignoring the fact that you are a different person, and times and circumstances may have changed.
How can all this information help you? Now that you are aware of all these types of “bad good bosses”, you can at least recognize who is in front of you and decide what to do next.