By : Terry Sheridan
'People don't leave organisations they leave bad managers' is an adage going around the place and very true. People exit for all sorts of bad managers, in my recent doctoral research I found two types of bad managers that you should look out for in your job as they will have no reason to help you stay on and perform at your best.
You may recognise them from the profiles below from your previous workplaces. The first type is obvious to see, the second is less easy to spot, but let's go through the types and you can judge for yourself.
Type 1: The Superior Malevolent You can spot this one fairly easily as they wish to be superior to you in every way. They will assert themselves from day one, when they have ascertained the usefulness of you they will either be polite and friendly to bring you on board to their own power base, or they will ignore you, listening maybe but do nothing. They may have the following characteristics:
• Arrogant
• Narcissistic
• Unrelenting slave driver
• Power player
• Sly, devious and or showing cunning
• Keeping secrets
• Be unfair and fight unfairly
• Bullying will be open, as they
They will be happy to engage in power plays and will usually win as they are masters at this game. It really is not worth the fight with them, even though the situation will be intensely unfair and you will feel diminished in their eyes. What to do if you have a Superior Malevolent as a direct report. It is important to stop this behaviour immediately. Start the grievance/counselling process with this person as soon as possible when the evidence is systematically in place. Documentation is the winner here. The idea would be to send out a strong message that you will not tolerate such behaviour, and by engaging in the procedures in your workplace the Superior Malevolent will soon leave.
What to do if you have a Superior Malevolent as your upline manager. If you are a favourite you have some time to think about your exit strategy. Why leave your position? Because a normal person will not win against the strategic manoeuvring of this person. You may have your head down, but inevitably you will be dragged into situations that you will not like to participate in, like unethical behaviour, mobbing or bullying others on their say so etc.. If you are not a favourite, then watch out, as you may be singled out for bullying if you present as able, intelligent, good at your tasks, or a competitor to this manager in the long run. Be on guard for bullying behaviours, which are listed on many websites, so that you are aware when this starts.
If you are already bullied then get away from this manager as soon as possible. If you work in a large company put your hand up for any lateral move, talk to HR about wanting to increase your skills etc, and go as soon as you can. It will be hard to give up everything just because of this manager, but that is how workplaces operate - inequity of power and you as an underling, have little power against this person.
The other type of bad manager has a completely different modus operandi.
Type 2. The Inferior Malevolent This type of manager is very sneaky, and hard to pinpoint. The 'inferior' label comes from how they relate to you. They will feel and act less than you, even if you are reporting to them. The type is generated from a sense within themselves that they are inferior and not worthy of what they are doing. To bolster up this feeling they will be the good time manager. This will be the one that will overdo the firm's generosity as they want you on their side. It's a bit like children in the schoolyard buying friends. It is the same strategy but it is primitive as a relationship builder and ends as soon as the candies and lollies finish. Another aspect of the Inferior Malevolent will be that if they see you as a good person to know, you will be included in the favourites list or group. This is where they take their workplace hat off and enjoy themselves usually at other people's expense. Developing an in-crowd is very typical for these managers. Characteristics can include:
• Going beyond normal bonhomie
• Being the company joker
• Organising drinks and eats within work times
• Doesn't relate well to upper management, and may be a Yes Man to upper echelon managers.
• Promote their in-crowd people usually unfairly without a competitive selection process.
They sound like great managers, but in fact they are not. They hate to give out the bad news, avoid conflict (and that is sometimes part of the managerial role to put boundaries in place) and want to be everybody's friend. They win support from their workers and their behaviour is mistaken as good. However, the people who are left out do not have this view, and feel that this manager is solely buying favours.
If you have one of these managers as a direct report then it is time to draw the line on the behaviour. It creates favourites and unfairness in promotion and will create disharmony in that work unit. Immediate counselling on this behaviour is required. This can be given from qualified HR individuals, career counsellors as well as the clinical psychologist type of therapist who can help with the deep rooted feeling of inferiority.
If you work for an upline manager of this type, then while it is less likely that you will be under any direct attack, this can happen by the exclusion of you from work activities and projects though, which sad to say is another form of bullying. If this is blocking your progress in the organisation, then you have to make the lateral move or move out completely. Warning! Do not hand in your resignation though until you have another job to go to. These people will give out lukewarm references, so make sure you have the job offer in your hand before the resignation letter is written.
So feeling superior or inferior in a manager is really not a good thing for the workforce at all. Both forms are inconsistent in their behaviour, particularly over time, watch out for this important clue. They can be of any age, gender or cultural heritage. Both will have their favourites and their outcasts and unfortunately both can use bullying tactics if you fall in the latter group.
I hope that this has been useful to you, as so many employees are totally unaware of these types and end up blaming themselves for what has happened to them. Being forewarned is very useful and the best advice I can give you.
Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia
'People don't leave organisations they leave bad managers' is an adage going around the place and very true. People exit for all sorts of bad managers, in my recent doctoral research I found two types of bad managers that you should look out for in your job as they will have no reason to help you stay on and perform at your best.
You may recognise them from the profiles below from your previous workplaces. The first type is obvious to see, the second is less easy to spot, but let's go through the types and you can judge for yourself.
Type 1: The Superior Malevolent You can spot this one fairly easily as they wish to be superior to you in every way. They will assert themselves from day one, when they have ascertained the usefulness of you they will either be polite and friendly to bring you on board to their own power base, or they will ignore you, listening maybe but do nothing. They may have the following characteristics:
• Arrogant
• Narcissistic
• Unrelenting slave driver
• Power player
• Sly, devious and or showing cunning
• Keeping secrets
• Be unfair and fight unfairly
• Bullying will be open, as they
They will be happy to engage in power plays and will usually win as they are masters at this game. It really is not worth the fight with them, even though the situation will be intensely unfair and you will feel diminished in their eyes. What to do if you have a Superior Malevolent as a direct report. It is important to stop this behaviour immediately. Start the grievance/counselling process with this person as soon as possible when the evidence is systematically in place. Documentation is the winner here. The idea would be to send out a strong message that you will not tolerate such behaviour, and by engaging in the procedures in your workplace the Superior Malevolent will soon leave.
What to do if you have a Superior Malevolent as your upline manager. If you are a favourite you have some time to think about your exit strategy. Why leave your position? Because a normal person will not win against the strategic manoeuvring of this person. You may have your head down, but inevitably you will be dragged into situations that you will not like to participate in, like unethical behaviour, mobbing or bullying others on their say so etc.. If you are not a favourite, then watch out, as you may be singled out for bullying if you present as able, intelligent, good at your tasks, or a competitor to this manager in the long run. Be on guard for bullying behaviours, which are listed on many websites, so that you are aware when this starts.
If you are already bullied then get away from this manager as soon as possible. If you work in a large company put your hand up for any lateral move, talk to HR about wanting to increase your skills etc, and go as soon as you can. It will be hard to give up everything just because of this manager, but that is how workplaces operate - inequity of power and you as an underling, have little power against this person.
The other type of bad manager has a completely different modus operandi.
Type 2. The Inferior Malevolent This type of manager is very sneaky, and hard to pinpoint. The 'inferior' label comes from how they relate to you. They will feel and act less than you, even if you are reporting to them. The type is generated from a sense within themselves that they are inferior and not worthy of what they are doing. To bolster up this feeling they will be the good time manager. This will be the one that will overdo the firm's generosity as they want you on their side. It's a bit like children in the schoolyard buying friends. It is the same strategy but it is primitive as a relationship builder and ends as soon as the candies and lollies finish. Another aspect of the Inferior Malevolent will be that if they see you as a good person to know, you will be included in the favourites list or group. This is where they take their workplace hat off and enjoy themselves usually at other people's expense. Developing an in-crowd is very typical for these managers. Characteristics can include:
• Going beyond normal bonhomie
• Being the company joker
• Organising drinks and eats within work times
• Doesn't relate well to upper management, and may be a Yes Man to upper echelon managers.
• Promote their in-crowd people usually unfairly without a competitive selection process.
They sound like great managers, but in fact they are not. They hate to give out the bad news, avoid conflict (and that is sometimes part of the managerial role to put boundaries in place) and want to be everybody's friend. They win support from their workers and their behaviour is mistaken as good. However, the people who are left out do not have this view, and feel that this manager is solely buying favours.
If you have one of these managers as a direct report then it is time to draw the line on the behaviour. It creates favourites and unfairness in promotion and will create disharmony in that work unit. Immediate counselling on this behaviour is required. This can be given from qualified HR individuals, career counsellors as well as the clinical psychologist type of therapist who can help with the deep rooted feeling of inferiority.
If you work for an upline manager of this type, then while it is less likely that you will be under any direct attack, this can happen by the exclusion of you from work activities and projects though, which sad to say is another form of bullying. If this is blocking your progress in the organisation, then you have to make the lateral move or move out completely. Warning! Do not hand in your resignation though until you have another job to go to. These people will give out lukewarm references, so make sure you have the job offer in your hand before the resignation letter is written.
So feeling superior or inferior in a manager is really not a good thing for the workforce at all. Both forms are inconsistent in their behaviour, particularly over time, watch out for this important clue. They can be of any age, gender or cultural heritage. Both will have their favourites and their outcasts and unfortunately both can use bullying tactics if you fall in the latter group.
I hope that this has been useful to you, as so many employees are totally unaware of these types and end up blaming themselves for what has happened to them. Being forewarned is very useful and the best advice I can give you.
Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia
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