Four important signs that you’re working for a bad boss

We’ve all known – or in many cases worked for – bad bosses. Those people who rub us up the wrong way. Who behave inappropriately. Then there are bosses who are bullies. Bosses who think that flaunting their power or throwing their weight around impresses others. That belittling or shouting at others gets results.

The reality is that many members of staff will put up with their boss’s crap for the sake of a paycheck. Will they respect that person? Almost certainly not.

That boss may not care whether his or her staff respect them, but what they should care about is realizing that unless they manage their staff correctly, those employees won’t produce their best work. If employees don’t produce their best work, then that’s no good for the boss or their business.

Author and expert in personal development Dondi Scumaci put it best when she said: “Compliance will never take you where commitment can go.”

With that in mind, here are 4 signs of a terrible leader – see how many you can spot in bosses from your past.

They discipline employees publicly

Some bosses are always on the prowl looking to “catch out” employees when they do something wrong. When they do, they criticize that employee in front of other members of staff, or worse still they call a meeting so they can criticize that employee in front of others.

All this is doing is feeding the boss’s ego and giving them a sense of self importance. Does it motivate the member of staff to do better next time? Absolutely not. At best the member of staff will “work to rule”, doing the bare minimum to achieve standards. At worst, that member of staff will realize their work isn’t appreciated and look to move to pastures new.

Instead of publicly discipling staff, such conversations should be held in private. As a boss, why not look for opportunities to “catch out” your staff doing great work? Publicly acknowledge how they handled that customer issue, or went above and beyond with that project. This recognition will breed a culture of commitment in your staff.

They are impossible to please

You know the type of boss who tells you to get on with a job, waves you away when you ask for clarification, but then tells you your work is not up to standard when you present it to them.

Bosses who are hypercritical and impossible to please are a nightmare. They believe that nobody can do a job as well as them and enjoy imposing their authority by belittling others’ work. Don’t be that boss.

When you delegate work to your staff, give them a clear outline of the results you expect, some ideas on how they might achieve that result, but then empower that person to do the job to the best of their ability and with your support and backup.