Ten Sins of a Bad Manager

Here are sure-fire ways to alienate and demotivate your team Make sure you steer clear of them
 
1: Never Sell Change when you can Demand it
Demands keep staff in their place — down there somewhere. Tact and frequent communication does to authority what sugar does to teeth. You would not want to rot your teeth; you would not want to spoil your team. After all, if any of your people had any ideas worth listening to, one of them would be the boss.

2: Humiliate your Staff Frequently
Develop a varied arsenal of “looks” to master the subtle put-down. A well-placed sigh and a “that was dumb” stare can work wonders in silencing your people.

Add the verbal clinchers: “Are you kidding?” or “Do you really think I’d do that!” Try well-placed sarcasm: “Yeah, I knew I’d have this problem when they made me put you in this position!” When they react, just say: “Can’t you take a joke without overreacting like most women do?”

3: Tell them how Useless they are
When providing performance feedback, do not let them find their own solution when you can reinforce your position of authority by telling them what they “obviously should have done”.

Take them to the stone tablets enshrined on your office wall to show them the error of their ways. Be ready to use the Harvard Business Review, your MBA notes or Dilbert cartoons to identify how defective they really are.4 Get personal

4: Get Personal
Never deal with issues when you can attack the person. When your staff criticise your ideas, question their attitude and commitment to the team. When they miss a deadline, question their ability to handle responsibility. If they persist in making their point, keep them in their place by saying: “If I wanted your opinion, I’d give it to you!”

5: Make them feel Lucky to still have a Job
Keep harping on the phrase, “more with less”, to explain your downsizing, reorganisation and cost-containment initiatives. Hold the line on wages to impress stockholders but take the wage increases and bonuses you deserve for leading your team through such perilous times.

6: Never give Strategic Direction until you have to
Once you do, never change your position. Now, if their ideas are really better, just wait a few weeks, make some slight adjustments and then claim them as your own. They will squawk in the restrooms and lounges, but they will know what it is to respect authority.

7: When Things go Wrong, you know who to Sacrifice
When you are given a bunch of turkeys, how do they expect a leader to get them to fly? Never tarnish your reputation as a change agent when you have inexperienced, marginal team members to blame. If by chance your team does succeed on its own, take the credit.

8: Build your own Corporate Torture Chamber
Know how to schedule hours to produce maxi-mum aggravation. Keep the pressure on by making them work with team members they hate and projects for which they have no skills to draw on.

9: Never give Recognition.
It sets the stage for complacency. After all, they are lucky they have a job. If you thank them, all they do is ask for more money.

10: Use Fear as a Great Motivator
Do not waste your time with petty, lengthy documentation with your tough employees; make a scene by threatening their job on-the-spot. If you abuse them privately, there will be no witnesses and it is your word against theirs.

With these helpful hints, you will be a boss to reckon with. And you can tell by these signs. On the surface, people will appear to work. You will get compliance when you are in sight. You may find they work slowly, make many errors, and have no concern for quality or customer service, but at least you know you will get the minimum.

You will be butchered at the drinking fountains and in the lounges, but do not let petty gossip get in your way. You will feel lonely, but that goes with creating the illusion of power. They will have a going-away party when you leave. Unfortunately, you will not be invited to the party.

By the way, the Surgeon General warns that using these hints may be hazardous to your management career and a disaster to the team and organisation you serve.