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Is Your Boss a Jerk?
By Bob Mason

I've been following a thread of comments relating to a question about how to handle a boss who is a complete jerk. This boss is antagonizing, bullying, and generally manipulative. What surprised me about the comments was that most people seemed to think the answer was for the subordinate to just move on. Very few thought the subordinate should do much to try to improve this boss. Of those who did, most seemed to advocate a somewhat adversarial approach.

All these comments brought two questions to mind. First, what is the best way to deal with a boss who is a jerk? Second, how did that boss become a jerk in the first place?

It's that second question that I believe really strikes to the heart of the matter. Granted, there are some people who are just jerks, and no amount of training, or intervention, or anything else is going to change them. But, I firmly believe those people are a small minority. The majority of bosses who fall in the jerk category are the victim of a poor training process. The root of that problem is that organizations tend to train entry and lower level leaders as managers, with little or no view towards their responsibility to lead. To illustrate, consider the example of a retail "manager," something I've observed in more than one major retail company.

Seven Signs of a Bad Boss
By Theo Gilbert-Jamison

It's tough enough to be working in a weak economy with the threat of job losses and unfettered cost-cutting measures. However, top it off with working for a Bad Boss, and you may have a recipe for professional disaster. You see, they negatively impact the work environment by fostering high levels of employee frustration, stress, resentment, and eventually high labor turnover throughout the company. There are seven signs of a Bad Boss, as you review them take a minute to assess both your effectiveness and ineffectiveness as a leader. Honestly, how often do you fall prey to these seven signs?

Bad bosses:

1. Have No Clear Goals. If your team has no clue of the goals or expectations they should be working towards, this may be a weak area for you. In such cases, there are either no goals at all; the goals are unrealistic; or they are unclear to the team. This leads your team to believe that either their boss doesn't know what they are doing, doesn't care, or doesn't want them to be in the loop.
2. Deliver Poor or No Communication. These are the silent types, who revel in their team not knowing what they are thinking. Bad Bosses don't feel it necessary to communicate how the company is doing, nor how employees are performing in their jobs. They just don't communicate, and rarely show any emotion - good or bad.

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THIS MONTH'S BOOK REVIEW: On Leadership by John W. Gardner

There are plenty of leadership books published every year and many of them are very good. Older isn't necessarily bad though and so I like to dust off some of the older books on my shelf. Recently I took another look at On Leadership by John W. Gardner. Published in 1990, the book is definitely written from the perspective of a different time. Interestingly, the basics that Gardner presents don't seem to have changed much.

"Why do we not have better leadership?" With this age-old question, Gardner opens a masterful review of leadership principles. He starts with a description of the nature of leadership and puts the leader/manager question to rest with a discussion of leaders, managers, and leader/managers. He takes several pages to discuss management functions that leaders must perform. He then launches into a listing of various kinds of leaders. It's here where the reader gets a sense of the author's perspective. Gardner was the Secretary of Health and Human Services in President Johnson's administration and has spent his life in the political arenad. Much of his commentary tends to derive from the political realm. Politics tends to breed a different kind of leader, different from the store manager or corporate executive. Gardner acknowledges this with a statement seemingly aimed at politicians that "leaders do not lead the parade, but find out where it's going and get out ahead of it."

Are leadership development programs sustainable for the next generation of leaders and how are they able to provide the necessary tools to form capable leaders ready to manage change?

Any program is sustainable or not depending on how the senior leadership supports it, and what makes senior leadership support a program is results. If a program doesn't produce some sort of measurable result (and good ROI) it will use up resources and then be killed. So, for a leadership development program to be sustainable, it must consistently produce good leaders.

First, create or contract a formal program that provides standardized, basic information, concentrating on the fundamentals of good leadership. Make this program mandatory for new leaders. A similar program may also be provided to people who move to mid-level positions, but the first level training is the most critical.

Second, hold leaders accountable for developing new leaders. I don't mean a quota system here, but rather a corporate culture that leaders must train leaders. This is vital because while leadership fundamentals can be taught in a class or seminar, actual leadership can only be taught on-the-job.

It's pretty obvious by now that my idea of a sustainable leadership development program requires some commitment and expenditure. It is that commitment by senior leadership that is the final answer to the question. If the boss is committed to the program it stands a good chance of being successful, and sustainable.

One other note. Most every organization has a long-term leadership training program whether they mean to or not. That's because leaders learn by watching other leaders. If you have bad leaders, you are likely to develop more bad leaders. (not always the case, but very likely) The steps above will produce a sustainable good leadership development program. Failing to institute any leadership program will likely result in a sustainable bad leadership development program. It seems that the bad programs are the ones that are the most easily sustainable.

Please send you comments to comments@planleadexcel.com

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Jennifer was in a new leadership position. She was placed in charge of an industrial shop of about 100 people ranging from barely out of high school to much older than her. The shop had been successful, though not as successful as it could have been. The leader she replaced was not particularly personable and saw only subordinates, not individuals. Jennifer's challenge was to bring the shop together into a more cohesive team and improve production and work quality.

What do you see as Jennifer's biggest challenge?

What are some actions you would advise Jennifer to take?

This case study is taken from Preparing to Lead

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