Have you ever had to work for someone that you consider to be incompetent? They seem unable to build relationships and blame their subordinates when things go wrong. These “leaders” possess a great ability to be unable to adapt to new circumstances and change with the times or they use old logic on new problems. The worst kind of leader is the one who was promoted too soon and thus did not have inadequate preparation for promotion. In most cases, the leader isn’t even aware of the consequences of their self-defeating behaviors. In the below paragraphs, I will give you some advice based on the experiences I’ve had on how to deal with a bad leader. (CAUTION: Taking the advice in this blog may result in the loss of your job and in no way is the writer responsible for your actions.)
(Figure 1. Lichtenwainer)
Every now and then, I end up working directly for someone who is all about mission accomplishment and concerned only with ensuring they look good in the eyes of their superiors. These leaders do not care about “taking care” of their subordinates and fall under authority-compliance on the Leadership Grid. “This style is result driven, and people are regarded as tools to that end”(Northouse). To survive this, simply be good at not being good at what you don’t like to do. If your boss would like you to fill out a report, intentionally (conveniently) forget to comply with all instructions, surely a boss who only cares about results will change your assignment and do the job himself.
(Figure 2. Bplans)
Misery loves company, and when your bad boss experiences failure; they do their best to use your performance as a scapegoat. Unfortunately, the old expression “feces rolls down-hill” can leave you feeling pretty unhappy. The biggest problem is that the boss ends up believing his own story and will attempt to enhance your performance with new more complicated procedures to show their superiors that the performance was a fluke and will not be repeated. Don’t worry; you won’t have to add five unnecessary steps to accomplish one. To avoid this simply email your bosses’ boss about what is really going on and be sure to mention their two hour lunch breaks as a potential cause for the slip in performance.
(Figure 3. Warfield)
Fear the micromanager; of all the bad approaches to leadership, this one is by far the most annoying. Your boss believes that delegation is defined as constantly supervising every action your subordinates are performing, to ensure they are doing the job you want them to do. Not only is this approach the most frustrating to deal with, because of their constant hovering, but they also strip you of any creative ability. In fact, sometimes they are attempting to micromanage a task in which you, yourself are considered the subject matter expert and they are a novice at best. An easy way to avoid contact with your boss for the day is to download the game “Flappy Bird” to your phone, and pretend to have an upset stomach so you can sit in the rest room all day and beat your personal best record.
(Figure 4. Bell)
Many times your fearless leader will charge head on into todays’ problem with yesterdays’ solution. When this happens its very painful for everyone involved especially when this is the cause of the poor performance referenced earlier. In fact, this failure to adapt can potentially create a never ending cycle of unpleasantness for everyone involved. To avoid this eternal struggle simply give your boss enough “rope to hang himself” and inform his superiors when he does.
(Figure 5, CartoonStock)
The boss who gets promoted too soon is the worst to deal with. These bosses have this sense of arrival that can be hard to deal with. They often overestimate their abilities and underestimate their new roles and responsibilities. When someone is promoted too soon, they do not have enough experience or technical backgrounds to lean on. For example, a hospital recently lost their Chief Physician due to personal reasons and now the hospital has to fill this position. They are in a hurry and decide to promote from within. They promote the surgeon they feel has the greatest potential. Now this young surgeon is very talented and can perform their tasks in an effective manner, but has only completed a limited variety of surgeries. Now the time comes to lead their staff, and a question regarding how to perform a surgery arises from a member of the staff. The new assigned leader has no knowledge on this particular surgery, and hopefully is able to put their ego aside and admit this instead of putting someone’s life in danger. Now the hospital has lost a great surgeon and gained an incapable Chief Physician. To deal with the leader that is too inexperienced to lead, you can mentor them or you can ask them to resign.
Again, your leader may not even be aware of the frustration their self-defeating behaviors are causing those around them. Perhaps just making them aware of their inability to build relationships, how they deal with failure, their inability to lead a team, inability to adapt, or the fact that they received inadequate preparation for promotion may solve the problem. If not you are not equipped with several strategies to keep your sanity when you interact with them. Good Luck!
References
Bell K (Feb 2014) How ‘Flappy Bird’ Went From Obscurity to No 1 App. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2014/02/04/flappy-bird-developer/
Bplans (2014) Test Your Leadership With These Two Questions. Retrieved from http://timberry.bplans.com/2011/08/test-your-leadership-with-these-two-questions.html
CartoonStock (2014) Hang Yourself Cartoons and Comics. Retrieved from http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/h/hang_yourself.asp
Lichtenwainer B. (May 2013) Bad Boss vs. Good Leader image. Retrieved from: http://modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/bad-boss-vs-good-leader-image/
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
The Pennsylvania State University (2014) Lesson 5: Style and Situational Approaches. Pysch 485 Leadership in Work Settings. Retrieved from:https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych485/001/content/05_lesson/04_topic/02page.html
Warfield B. (2012) Hewlett Packard and the Many Curious Paradoxes of Micro Management. Retrieved from: http://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/48784/hewlett-packard-and-the-many-curious-paradoxes-of-micro-management/