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15 Unmistakable Qualities of Bad Managers - Transparency
15 Unmistakable Qualities of Bad Managers - Transparency
There’s a quite popular saying that goes: “employees don’t quit their jobs, they
quit their managers.” And there’s a lot of truth in that saying if you think about
it.
Your manager – or boss – typically has a HUGE influence on what your job
actually looks like from day-to-day, how you feel about coming into work, and
what your career path will be in the foreseeable future. Your relationship with
them is so crucial that you often have to manage them to some extent too, as
an employee, to keep things going smoothly (read about how to manage your
manager – and yes it’s a thing (https://transparency.kununu.com/how-to-
manage-your-boss-manager-yes-its-a-thing/)).
(https://www.kununu.com/us?
utm_source=transparency_blog&utm_medium=in_line_banner&utm_campaign
=your_awesome)
We can’t say that this popular saying (that people quit managers, not jobs) is
100% true at all times though: there are many different things that impact any
employee’s happiness at work (https://b2b.kununu.com/blog/what-makes-
employees-happy-infographic), plus studies have shown that there are other
reasons besides their manager that are just as likely to drive employees to quit
(https://hbr.org/2018/01/why-people-really-quit-their-jobs). But all things
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considered, you still can’t overlook the impact your manager typically has on
your work-life. It couldn’t be more true than if you’re so unlucky as to have a
bad manager.
Their answers all boiled down to 15 undesirable qualities that, when exhibited in
the workplace, wreaks havoc on employee happiness and morale… and yes,
drives employees to quit. Keep in mind that these don’t include obvious
negative qualities that you likely wouldn’t want to find in anyone you work
closely with let alone your manager, such as lack of ethics or morale compass,
arrogance, and self-centeredness.
“A good manager always takes responsibility for the performance of their team
and won’t throw any of their team members “under the bus” while still
providing the team members with all the praise in public, even for ideas that the
manager would’ve come up with themselves. A bad manager is the opposite.
“There’s nothing worse than working for a manager that’s willing and happy to
claim any big wins the team achieves, but deflects responsibility when times are
tough and losses come around. Team wins and losses should be shared
together, with management leading the way to ensure wins are multiplied and
losses minimized.”
“We all like to be told we’ve done a great job, and some managers may
overlook that when leading a team. You should always let people know when
they’re doing a good job, it’s extremely motivating and shows you respect them
professionally.”
“They see you, their employee, as simply a set of hands and feet paid to get a
job done. They don’t ask about you personally, because they don’t care. If it
doesn’t have to do with getting the job done, they don’t care.”
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“A manager is the one leading their team and will also be the one that knows
when to give credit where credit is due. If they cannot appreciate instances
where their team exceeds their expectations, it will be a source of demotivation.
This will also worsen if the manager does not give credit to their team while also
taking all the credit for themselves.”
Sean Si, CEO and Founder of SEO Hacker (https://seo-hacker.net/), Qeryz, Sigil
and Workplays
3. Micromanages
“A poor manager will micro-manage his or her team. They will see only one way
to accomplish a task and will not value the input of others. Team members are
not encouraged to grow, mistakes are frowned upon and unless a task is
completed exactly as the manager wants it completed (even if completion in
another manner achieves a positive outcome) the manager won’t recognize the
success.”
“Bad managers fail to give their team personal independence. They over-
delegate and over-assign. Employees who feel they don’t have freedom will
become disillusioned and frustrated.”
“Controlling your team in minute detail is a terrible trait for a manager. You
should hire a team you trust to do the work and give them the freedom to carry
it out. Micromanaging leads to a lack of motivation and creativity!”
“A clear-cut sign of a bad manager is someone who jumps in and takes over
every time there is a problem, even the slightest one. If your employees are
resistant to bringing problems to you, because they fear you’ll take it over,
there’s a good chance you are doing something wrong. A great manager rejects
the dependence of the their teammates and instead asks “how would you solve
this problem if I wasn’t here? The #1 role of a manager is to grow people, and
when you solve a problem for them nobody grows.”
5. Plays favorites
“Managers that pick out certain team members as their favorites are…bad news.
Often there are some members of the team that are more similar in terms of
culture, values or even work ethic, so it’s easy for managers to relate more easily
to these people. However, when this results in them promoting their work over
others, giving more weight to their opinions, or giving more assistance, it
crosses the line. Other team members are quick to notice and can easily
become disengaged as a result.”
“It can be hard to be recognised in the world of work, but even more so if your
manager favours certain members of the team.
Staff can feel really unmotivated if they have a manager with favourites; it
means their hard work goes unnoticed. Showing favouritism towards specific
employees also leads members of the team to feel frustrated with the company
dynamic when it comes to completing deadlines and making complaints about
those certain members of staff.”
“[One thing you’ll find from bad managers is] setting unrealistic expectations
with no guidance. There could be a lack of teamwork that is needed in order to
complete a project. It is important for managers to know the difference between
overworking their employees and challenging them. It is important for
employees to be resourceful and learn their own way through a project, but it is
also vital to show them the vital resources.”
“When a manager fails to make a concerted effort to understand the needs and
desires of their employees, and how they can help them reach both individual
and group goals, morale suffers. This causes lowered productivity and a higher
turnover rate.”
“The number one thing that defines a bad manager for me is an inability to
listen and respond to feedback from staff. Individual team-members are always
a rich source of information – they could hear real-life feedback from
customers, for example, or have insights into where processes could be refined.
A manager who’s too arrogant to realise the value of this information not only
misses out on opportunities to improve things; They also alienate the staff by
failing to listen. As a consultant who’s zipped around numerous companies for
over a decade, I’ve encountered a great many managers like this.”
“Bad managers speak more than they listen. When you’re the loudest voice in
the room, it’s easy to forget that you hired a bunch of smart people that are
more qualified to do their jobs than you are. Managers sometimes consider
employee silence to be an indicator of agreement or an absence of ideas.
“Pitching in with the ‘grunt’ work, being one of the team and showing up is so
important for leading others. No one wants to work for someone who never
shows up, doesn’t do work themselves or acts superior. Be someone they can
follow in the right path!”
“[Also known as a] “do as I say, not as I do” mentality. As an employer, all eyes
are on you, which means, you need to be your model employee. You can’t
expect your employees to be chipper, if you’re bringing in a bad attitude every
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day. You also can’t expect your employees to conquer challenges, that you don’t
know how to conquer yourself. Knowing the ins and outs of your industry is
paramount to good leadership, as is setting the positive tone for company
culture.”
“[Some bad managers] have such low self-awareness that they blame others for
their own failings. They don’t see how their action and inaction contribute
significantly to the problems they have.”
“The old-style “my way or the highway” mindset of management has no place in
modern society, but there are still plenty of managers out there that try to lead
this way. While a fear-based style might get some short-term results, the long-
term negative impact will always be more substantial. Servant leadership is the
only way to drive consistent results in a business world now that is as complex
and dynamic as it’s ever been.”
“Countless managers receive requests, questions, concerns etc from their team
and either 1) never respond or 2) respond and then fail to follow through. This
can be very demotivating for team members and sets the tone for a company
culture of dropping the ball. Great managers are so organized, their team knows
they can count on them to follow up.”
“This person is the opposite extreme [of a micromanager]. They think that they
can get everyone working at capacity with just the very occasional bit of
guidance. They often arrive late, take long lunches, and leave early on a regular
basis. They over-value the contribution of their strategic thinking and are quick
to take credit for their team members’ work. Pretty soon, people resent these
types of managers.”
Do you agree with these bad manager qualities? Is there one that we missed
but you think is worth mentioning? Let us know @kununu_US
(http://www.twitter.com/kununu_US)!
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