12/23/2015

11thingsthatbadbossesdowrongRediff.com

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11thingsthatbadbossesdowrong
Lastupdatedon:November27,201418:40IST

Earlierthisweek,webroughtyouthislistofthingsthatgreatbossesdoright
VirenderKapoor,authorofAWonderfulBoss:GreatPeopletoWorkWith,listsout11thingsthatbadbossesdo
wrong.

eopledon'tquitjobs,VirenderKapoorsays,theyquitbosses.

KapoorhasbeenthedirectorofPune'sSymbiosisInstituteofManagementandthefounderofManagementInstitutefor
LeadershipandExcellence.
Hehasauthoredseveralbooksontopicsasvariedasmanagement,technologyandworkplaceissues.
Hislatest,AWonderfulBoss,narratestruestoriesaboutbossesandtheirteamsofferinginsightsintothemindsofthe
decisionmakersaswellastheirsubordinates.
SpeakingtoRediff.com,Kapoorlistsoutthe11thingsthatbadbossesdowrong:
1.Badbossesencouragepoliticking
Politickingalwaysstartsfromthetop.
Nosubordinatewilleverbackbiteacolleaguebeforetheirbossunlessthebossisencouragingit.
Theeasiestwaytostopitistotellsuchasubordinatetoshutupbecauserememberyouaretheboss!
Onlybosseswhoareinsecureplaypolitics.
Theyaren'tsureoftheirjobsandcompetenceandsotheydividetheirpeopleintogroupsandletthemfight.
Badbossesalsodon'trealisethatitisthisveryculturethatwillcometobitethemintheback.
2.Badbossesworkinblackandwhitemode
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Abadbossisonewhohasstronglikesanddislikes.
S/hewilleitherhateyouorloveyouanddependingonit,youwilleitherbeintheblackbucketorthewhiteone.
Onceyou'reintheblackbucket,youarewrittenoffandifnot,youcandonothingwrong.
Now,imaginethehorrorofworkingforsuchapersonifyou'verubbedthemthewrongway!
3.Abadbossisa'BananaBoss'
Likedictatorsofbananarepublics,abadbosswillneverpassdowntheperkshereceives.
Ifit'saclubmembershiporajunketoralucrativeseminarorevenaforeignpostingabadbosswilleitherkeepitto
herself/himselforonlyhanditdowntohiscoterieofblueeyedboys.
4.Abadbossbecomesabottleneck
Bosshastobeafacilitators/heshouldnotblockthewayofprogress.
Abadbosscausesabottleneckbybeingindecisive.
Letustakeanexampleofsomeoneseekinganapprovaloftofinaliseadealerfromtheirboss.
Abadbosswillnotbothertorespondtotheemailandkeepnotjusthiscolleagueontenterhooksbutalsotheentire
supplychain.
Agoodbosswilldecideandrespond.Orifs/hecannotdoitimmediately,willlethiscolleagueknowthat.
Severalofusdonotacknowledgereceiptoftheemailswereceive.Itiscrucialtolettheotherpersonknowthatyou've
readwhattheywantyoutoreadandthatyouareworkingonit.
Remember,abottleneckisatthetopofthebottlenotatthebottom!:)
5.Abadbossexpectsaperfectsubordinate
Notallfivefingersarealike.Sodon'texpectallyoursubordinatestobesuperheroes.
Iftheywere,whatwouldbeyourjobasaboss?
Youracumenasabossistounderstandeachperson'sstrength.
Asabossyouhavetolearntomakethemostofthat.
Don'tdemandforyourteamtobechangedinsteadworktowardsmakingthemostofyourteam'spositives!
Remember,bossesgetpaidtomanagepeoplenotcribabouthowbadtheyare.
Whichbringsustothenextpoint...
6.Badbosseshurtpeopleemotionally
Don'tinsultyoursubordinates.Apartfrombeingaterriblethingtodo,youwillhaveseveraldisgruntledpeoplearound
you.
Itisonethingifyouhurtsomeoneunintentionally(ifyoudo,apologiseimmediately)andanotherthingaltogethertodoit
onpurpose.
Ifyouhumiliatesomeoneinpublic,theywillneverforgettheincidentandtheywillneverforgiveyou.
7.Abadbossovercentralisesandmicromanages
Abadbosslikestocontrolthesmallestthings.
Itisonethingifitisaturnaroundperiodorifyou'vejoinedanorganisationwiththeexpresspurposeofsortingouta
mess.
Butcentralisationandmicromanagementshouldnotremainapermanentstyle
Letgoofcontrolletpeoplestartworkingontheirown.
Delegate,briefandmonitordon'tmicromanage.
8.Abadbossdoesn'thavefaithinher/histeam
Thisisanextensionofthepreviouspoint.Learntogiveyourteammoreautonomygroomyoursecondincommand.
Youarenotgoingtobearoundforeveryoumaywanttotakeafewdaysofforyoumayfallsick.Surelyyoucannot
expectallworktowaitintheinterim?
Putyourfaithinyourteamandkeepthesecondstringready.
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9.Abadbossexpectszeroerrors
Itisonethingattemptingtoreduceerrorsbutitisnotpossibletohaveabsolutelyzeroerrorssimplybecausethereare
manythingsthatarenotinyourcontrol.
Thekeyhereistohaveacontingencyplan.
Yesyouneedtominimiseerrorsbutdon'thangpeopleforsmallmistakes.
Don'tletamistakeberepeatedinsteadlearnfromit.
Thebestwaytoidentifymistakesandlearnfromthemisbydrawingupanafteractionreportadocketthatwilllistout
thelearningsandmistakessothenextteamthattakesupasimilarprojectdoesn'trepeatthem.
10.Abadbossconfusestheteam
Icannotstresshowimportantthisis.
Itiscrucialthatyouarefirstclearaboutthedirectionyouwantthemtotake.
Itisequallyimportantthatyouexplainthattothemjustasclearly.
Briefthemtothelastcommaandfullstopsothereisnomistake.
A bad boss is someone who is unclear of the goal, unclear of how to go about achieving it and ambiguous while
explainingittoher/hiscolleagues.
11.Abadbossissomeonewhopromisesanddoesn'tdeliver
Ifyou'vebeenatthereceivingendatapromisethatwasneverkept,you'dprobablyknowwhatIamsaying.
Don'tbethatperson.
Don'tpromiseapromotiontoacolleagueunlessyou'resureyou'llbeabletoswingitforher/him.
Don'tpromiseher/himthatjunketorthatlucrativepostingunlessyouactuallycan.
Thatbeingsaidifyoubelieves/hedeservesit,goallouttogetitforthem.
Bethatboss.

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