The dreaded Bad Boss comes in many varieties.
There are the incompetent ones, the lazy or defensive ones, the ones who claim your work as their own, or those who prefer to rule through intimidation.
Jon Maner, a professor of management and organizations at Kellogg School of Management, has studied a specific breed of bad boss—those who intentionally sabotage their teams’ cohesion in order to protect their own status as leader.
Maner’s research shows that leaders will intentionally sideline high-performing team members, limit communication and social bonding among team members, or compile ill-matched teams if they think it will help ensure their own place at the top.
I Word Understanding
Dreaded– regarded with great fear or apprehension
Incompetent-unskillful
Defensive– regarded with great fear or apprehension
Breed-to bring about
Sabotage-destruction
Cohesion-togetherness
Compile ill-matched– assembled things or person not well suited to or appropriate for each other
II Have your say
1. There may be many reasons for bad bosses, but one that really seems offensive to many of us is that of power-hungry leaders. Why power-hungry leaders are offensive?
2. Do you think the workplace is a stressful place?
Boss
Colleagues
Customers / Clients
Overtime
Deadlines
Job security
3. Have you had good or bad bosses?
4. Having a bad boss could be bad for your heart. Do you think workers should be able to sue companies if bosses give them heart problems?
