Unmasking the dark side: traits of a toxic manager
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by Eduard Hernandez
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You're probably well-acquainted with the timeless adage: "People don't leave bad jobs; they leave bad bosses". Over my two decades of professional experience, I've had the privilege of working with inspiring leaders who propelled me to new heights, as well as those whose management style left much to be desired.
Reflecting on this journey, I've distilled the characteristics that define a less-than-ideal manager into the ten commandments of poor leadership:
1. Empowerment evasion. Fails to foster empowerment and trust among their team, effectively stifling growth and potential.
2. Micromanagement mayhem. Tends to micromanage, thwarting the creative and autonomous spirit of their team members.
3. Delegation dilemma. Struggles with effective and equitable delegation, leading to imbalanced workloads and frustration.
4. Team neglect. Places personal success above team development and growth, leaving the collective potential untapped.
5. Superior obsession. Prioritizes appeasing superiors over the well-being and satisfaction of the team, sowing seeds of discontent.
6. Feedback fiasco. Offers vague or unconstructive feedback, acting as a roadblock to individual and collective progress.
7. Time disregard. Demonstrates a casual approach to punctuality, often arriving late to meetings or canceling them at the eleventh hour, impacting team efficiency.
8. Arrogance abyss. Radiates arrogance and a profound lack of empathy, fostering a hostile work environment.
9. Responsibility reluctance. Shuns accountability and readily pins blame on subordinates when issues surface, eroding trust within the team.
10. Credit conquest. Seizes all the glory when things go well, conveniently sidelining the contributions of the dedicated team.
I invite you to contribute any additional negative traits that you believe deserve a spot on this list!
Thanks for reading :-)
Posted on: October 27, 2023 08:34 AM |
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Comments (13)
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Luis Branco
CEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, Ldª
Carcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Eduard
The topic you brought to our reflection and debate is very interesting.
Thanks for the post and your ten points
- Does things for employees under the pretext of lack of time and/or better quality
Eduard Hernandez
Community Champion
Product Operations Program Manager
Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Dear Luis,
Thanks for your comment. I do not fully understand your question.
A bad manager will throw his underling under the bus to save himself. Right the opposite of "taking one (bullet) for the team".
Happy Sunday,
Eduard
Robert Birney
Technical Consultant, Conduct of Operations Subject Matter Expert| Polestar Technical Services
Richland, Wa, United States
What I see too often in a operational environment is a "get it done" attitude without regard for required protocols followed by chaos when something does not go right.
Luis Branco
CEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, Ldª
Carcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Eduard
Thank you for your comment
I absolutely agree with what you wrote: "A bad manager will throw his underling under the bus to save himself"
When I answered I thought: "a bad manager doesn't delegate, he's arrogant, he thinks that only he is capable of doing things well"
Md Rahman
Project Manager| The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)
Sydney, Nsw, Australia
Hi Eduard,
You have depicted the picture of toxic manager very very well. I am not sure whether it has been captured or not in a different way if not I would like to add " Jeopardizing team's relationships through divide and rule policy with a view to keeping the position secured".
Md Rahman
Project Manager| The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)
Sydney, Nsw, Australia
Hi Eduward,
Fear of hiring candidates with superior skills and experience being afraid, is another trait I have noticed in toxic managers.
Eduard Hernandez
Community Champion
Product Operations Program Manager
Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Thanks a bunch, Md, Luis, and Robert, for chipping in! 😄
You know what's really interesting? I've seen managers bring in team members who might not be as qualified as others, all in the name of quashing potential threats. Good call on that, Md! 👍
Great article, thanks for sharing
Eduard Hernandez
Community Champion
Product Operations Program Manager
Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Thanks for reading, Shakeel, glad that you enjoyed it!
Great Post.
From a construction point of view.
It is too common to blame a trade for an issue than it is to identify what created the delay.
We need to mitigate this from happening.
By blaming one trade for an issue on site you are now pitting them against each other which will bring the job site moral down.
The manager needs to understand that there is a reason and deal with the reason.
Lack of manpower should be seen moths ahead of time if that person is doing job right.
Delay of equipment due to deliverables. It happens and that needs to be tabled to client. Manager should find a work around to bring other scopes to still try to bring in on time.
Bid packages are the biggest issue for construction. These packages are being tendered out for bid at 70% complete for the sake of getting the project started.
All these can be dealt with by treating all the trades as one team. There should never be mechanical, civil, electrical groups because everytime you divide things by blaming one trade for something none of them could resolve you will have that toxic work site and it will slow down.
Maybe a bit of a run on here, but the manager needs to remember that all trades make up a team.
So I would suggest making number 5 all bold letters with that being the most important in my view.
Regards,
Tim
Eduard Hernandez
Community Champion
Product Operations Program Manager
Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Thanks for your post, Tim. I am not acquainted with the construction world, good addition! Happy Holidays everyone!
Vinod Garg
CEO| PROMAC ADVISORS PRIVATE LIMITED
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Very nicely explained about a toxic manager. One can also learn from this article how not to become a toxic manager
I am from the construction industry and can very well relate it with a few managers
SUKUMARAN SUBARAMANIYAN
Senior Manager| Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Thank you for sharing the blog on toxic management. Your insights into the behavioral traits were clearly and effectively conveyed.
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