Recently released movie Horrible Bosses pulls on the heart strings of many average working adults. The ‘horrible bosses’ in the movie engage in all kinds of inappropriate behaviour, such as sexual harassment, lying and deceit, cruel manipulation, and blatant prejudice.
The movie takes things to an extreme – including a plot to kill these so-called horrible bosses – but the frustration and dissatisfaction are feelings that all too many people can understand.
Countless studies have shown time and again that the number one reason people leave their company is due to is their relationship with their manager. “A horrible boss will result in high staff turnover or employees with no passion for what they do,” says Carolyn Khiu, brand general manager, Clinique Singapore.
Mistaken identity
At times, leaders might be misunderstood and unfairly labelled as being bad bosses. For instance, a hands-off boss may think he is empowering his staff, but employees might interpret it as a failure to provide them with any direction or feedback.
“As bosses, we often see things from a different perspective to our employees,” says Khiu. “There have been times where the desire to stay in the loop and be kept informed has led to my staff feeling as if they are being micro-managed and their decision-making stifled; when in fact the rationale behind my actions was that I could defend their decisions if needed, and help them to avert any potential problems that may not be apparent to the person making the decision.”
Sometimes, a boss who is stern but fair may also be mistaken for a horrible boss. “In my opinion, a horrible boss is one who doesn’t show empathy for employees, has nothing positive to contribute and often abuses employees in the presence of others,” says Khiu. “However, a boss that is stern but fair is one who will point out employees’ mistakes, then give them direction and feedback so that they can improve.”
Managing complaints
Dealing with toxic leadership in an organisation is a challenge that HR is best positioned to take charge of. HR must hear both sides of the story in order to objectively handle employee complaints about a horrible boss. The first step in dealing with this would be for HR to identify the exact behaviours from a boss that are causing the angst in an employee, says Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster, the co-authors of Working for You Isn’t Working for Me – The Ultimate Guide to Managing your Boss. “Your willingness to help the employee really identify and clarify what the boss is doing will bring immediate relief,” they say.
Khiu says HR should then mediate a session where the two parties talk things through in order to attempt to reconcile their differences and reach a compromise. However, wrapping words around difficult messages is as hard as learning a new language, says Donna Flagg, author of Surviving Dreaded Conversations.
“If you worry about what might happen or what someone might do or say, you create the kind of barrier that can be difficult, if not impossible, to overcome,” she says. Flagg believes HR should focus on what needs to be said and figure out the best way to say it – having a ‘just do it’ mentality.
Khiu agrees and cites a case where a long-serving and hardworking employee was denied a promotion. “Many people in the company sympathised with him. However, they were not aware of an insight which I, as the supervising boss, was aware of,” she says.
Khiu assessed the employee’s performance but found that he was just not ready for the position yet as he had yet to develop the skills required to fulfil the demands of this position. “Thus, I was perceived to be the horrible boss by many in the company even though I had valid reasons for my actions.”
Where a leader is clearly aware that they are being a ‘horrible boss’ towards staff, HR should intervene and get the leader to change their style of leadership. This is a step-by-step process that begins with identifying negative behaviours displayed by the leader and highlighting this issue to them, followed by counselling.
“Additionally, the boss could be advised to enrol in leadership training courses to better develop their leadership competencies,” says Khiu. “At Clinique, we try to facilitate a smooth transition of our employees who take on leadership roles by ensuring that they receive proper training prior to or when they assume their leadership roles.”
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What’s a bad boss?
Experts say many bosses may be clueless about their appearance to employees. Here are five signals that suggest you may be a bad one:
+ Most of your emails are one-word long – bosses who only respond with one-word emails, no matter how busy they may be, are simply being rude.
+ You rarely talk to your employees face-to-face – bosses who hide behind technology to make tough discussions can cause employees to feel slighted and unimportant.
+ Your employees are out sick, a lot – employees will fake sickness to avoid a bad boss. Studies have also found that employees who were poorly managed at work were 20–40% more likely to have a heart attack.
+ Your team’s working overtime, but still missing deadlines – such bosses are disengaged with the needs of the team and are unaware of their limits.
+ You yell – even if they do not shout, bosses speaking loudly can ruin workplace relations, causing unnecessary tension and negativity in the workplace.
(Source: Wall Street Journal)
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Battling a bad boss
Horrible bosses do not just happen in the movies – they are certainly more common than one would think. According to Yeo, a public relations executive, it happened at her first-ever job after graduation, where she encountered a ‘boss from hell’.
Her lady boss clearly disliked her from the beginning of her tenure at the global PR consultancy. For instance, she would buy snacks for the other colleagues and chat with them, but completely ignore Yeo. At first, Yeo thought that she was simply imagining things but her colleagues took notice as well, and asked what she had done to offend the boss.
“The icing on the cake was when she organised a birthday party and invited everyone who worked under her – except me,” fumed Yeo. Her boss came up to her the next day laughing, and said that she had forgotten all about her.
Yeo left soon after, for a job with “much greener pastures”. “Their loss,” she shrugged.
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Case study
The Estée Lauder way
Estée Lauder Companies provides a confidential hotline to staff. “Employees can call to raise concerns regarding any breach of our Company’s Code of Conduct,” says Carolyn Khiu, Brand General Manager, Clinique Singapore. “There are also constant reminders everywhere in the office to show respect and consideration for others and that bad behaviours are frowned upon.”
In addition to this, senior managers are sent for courses such as ‘Transformative Leadership’ to help them develop the necessary leadership skills to empower and retain talents in the company.
As a part of the Estée Lauder Companies’ succession planning, HR has the important role of identifying great managers, grooming future managers, and enabling great managers at Clinique, as well as all in their other brands. “We have Employee Engagement Surveys to determine how involved and enthusiastic our employees are about their work and with the organisation,” says Khiu. “This survey measures the level of engagement provided by the local and regional management teams.”
From these surveys, the HR team has identified core competencies required for a leadership role in the company, and has embarked on a series of training programmes that cascade throughout the organisation to empower employees with these skills.
“We constantly work towards bringing the best to everyone we touch and being the best at everything we do,” says Khiu.
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Managing up
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Boss type
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Coping strategy
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The Micromanager has trouble delegating tasks. When assigning a project, this boss tells you exactly how, when and where to do it.
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Trust is usually the issue here, so try to do everything in your power to build it. Don’t miss deadlines, pay attention to details and keep your manager informed of all the steps you’ve taken to ensure quality work.
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The Poor communicator provides little or no direction. Your assignments often have to be completed at the last minute or redone because goals and deadlines weren’t clearly explained.
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Diplomatically point out that by providing more information upfront, you’ll both avoid undue stress and save time in the long-run. Seek clarification when confused and arrange regular check-ins on projects.
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The Bully wants to do things their way, or no way at all. Bosses like this also tend to be gruff with others and easily frustrated.
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Stand up for yourself. The next time your supervisor shoots down your proposal, for example, calmly explain your rationale. Often, this type of manager will relent when presented with a voice of reason.
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The Saboteur undermines the efforts of others and rarely recognises individuals for a job well done. This supervisor takes credit for employee ideas but places blame on others when projects go awry.
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Make sure your contributions are more visible to others, especially senior management, so that your role isn’t overlooked. Get information in writing from this person so you have a chain of communications to refer to, if needed.
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The Mixed Bag is always a surprise. This manager’s moods are typically unpredictable: they may confide in you one day and turn a cold shoulder the next.
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Try not to take this boss’ disposition personally. A calm and composed demeanour is best when dealing with this supervisor. When this person is on edge, try to limit communication unless a matter is urgent.
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Source: OfficeTeam, recruitment specialist
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