What Makes a Boss Toxic?
by “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you.” – Max De Pree.
A boss can be dysfunctional for many reasons. Many bosses are tyrants because they have had damaging or traumatic experiences. These have shaped their personality and turned them into bitter or resentful people. Pain can leave a residue of dysfunctional tendencies. Others are jellyfishes and have no backbone. They’ve been shaped this way by genes or bad parenting. Some are perfectionists and drive you crazy with their pickiness.
Every boss is based in a home or personal situation. A painful home life can cause a boss to be unreasonable at work. We all have a tendency to transfer behaviors from our personal lives to our work lives. The more unpleasant one’s personal life, the more difficult it is to keep those problems out of the workplace. When one is going through a divorce, for instance, or when a teenager child is having drug problems, one’s role as a boss is bound to be affected.
Image via Wikipedia
Since being humans’ means being imperfect, all of us have some degree of emotional pathology. This pathology can affect our work. Bosses with psychological hang-ups such as anger, jealousy, suspiciousness, addictions, and depression can be less effective.
Not every boss deserves to be a boss. Sometimes a competent employee is promoted above her or his level of ability. Authors Lawrence Peters and Raymond Hall state in their book, The Peter Principle, “In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” If you keep getting promoted sooner or later you hit the ceiling your incompetence becomes obvious. Many bosses rise above their level of competence. Since demoting is difficult for most organizations, these bosses can stay in their positions for many years.
Some bosses are attracted to bureaucracy. They worship company policies. They are sticklers for protocol, and resist change. They love detail and paperwork. They are rigid and super cautious. They work “by the book” and drive others crazy.
Image by infomatique via Flickr
Bosses are not superhuman. They are ordinary people who have the same needs as anyone else. They need respect and wish to be effective. It’s not easy to be a boss today. Competition is intense and the rewards are not always that great. And many of their workers are not exactly pussycats either.
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Post CommentTeves
On November 4, 2009 at 5:30 am
Great article…
Themax
On November 4, 2009 at 5:33 am
Really A toxic Boss can fired you any time!!
Nice article thank you
Francois Hagnere
On November 4, 2009 at 5:36 am
Well done!
Frances Lawrence
On November 4, 2009 at 6:50 am
Yo make some very good points, nice article.
cardy
On November 4, 2009 at 8:14 am
A good article enjoyed the read, nice work
chitragopi
On November 4, 2009 at 8:30 am
Quite interesting.
lillyrose
On November 4, 2009 at 8:44 am
I agree Bosses are not super human but they have to learn to leave things outside the office, just as a surgeon does! This was a great write from you!
Christine Ramsay
On November 4, 2009 at 8:49 am
Fotunately I have worked under reasonably good bosses overall, but some people can be so badly affected by constant harassment from people above them. You make some very good points in the article. Good work.
Christine
Melody SJAL
On November 4, 2009 at 9:30 am
Good points and nicely presented.
Jane Benitez
On November 4, 2009 at 9:35 am
You made some very valid points, nice work.
Sourav
On November 4, 2009 at 9:46 am
So very true!
K.Reshma
On November 4, 2009 at 9:55 am
Very well presented, worth reading
Starpisces
On November 4, 2009 at 10:50 am
Some bosses are like the weather, temperamental also.
Toxic bosses need detoxification (joking..)
Enjoy reading this article, thanks.
agriculi
On November 4, 2009 at 11:48 am
Your worst enemy is a toxic boss.
Lady Sunshine
On November 4, 2009 at 11:54 am
I had my share of toxic bosses…and it sucks! Well done, gift!
Goodselfme
On November 4, 2009 at 1:01 pm
You express your thoughts well. TX
alc
On November 4, 2009 at 1:17 pm
A great write! Thanks for the share!
Shirley Shuler
On November 4, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Toxic bosses are a sad fact of life, but so true!
cebuanaeyez
On November 4, 2009 at 6:02 pm
A boss toxic is very bad for any businesses!
Tanya Wallace
On November 4, 2009 at 7:55 pm
A great article Gift,very well written and very true! I agree not all bosses are cut out to be bosses and they all have the same needs as we do as they are only above some just on job status. Some workers are enough to drive some bosses insane and vise versa.Great topic and very enjoyable read as always!
deep blue
On November 5, 2009 at 6:52 am
A boss toxicity is the worst thing to happen. I’m just fortunate to find another boss. This is a unique post on managearial and even political scenarios out there. What do you think about the toxicity of PGMA? Nice work, kabayan.
papaleng
On November 5, 2009 at 8:18 am
just remember, each one has his own identity, and it goes with bosses. You have presented some good points, friend.
fragile18
On November 5, 2009 at 9:51 am
great article. As a student, parents and teachers are my bosses.
and yes, sometimes, I think I experience role conflict.
Ben
On November 5, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Leaders and managers are not the same thing, in fact rarely are there any bosses out there that cover both. A good manager belongs behind a computer in the IT department number crunching, A good leader should organise the nights out.
Personally Ive seen far more pure managers than id ever like to have known, but dont forget the other toxic manager, the pure leader. You might have known this manager too, he wants to be your friendand have fun, but rarely does any work actually get done and the company went bust, at least you had fun getting there, right?
Apres Ski
On November 8, 2009 at 3:39 pm
While I was under a very jealous, toxic boss, I made detailed notes on how not to act if I ever became boss. It’s also drove me to be my own boss by starting my own company. Technically, we are now competitors, but she doesn’t care because she glad she doesn’t have to see me everyday.
Working everyday with someone who has seething jealousy & hatred for you isn’t good for you or the company. These are the women that were missed by Dr. Phil, Oprah and a good therapist. Some are even Mean Moms & the Bully Moms who somehow hid their emotions and went through their own hell & are now spitting it back out on us, their families and the rest of the world.
Now that I’m the boss, I have no employees now. But I realize at some point, I will have to hire someone. That makes me very nervous. But I’ve also taken notes on bosses I liked in the past & present and bosses I’d like to work for . . . not against, if I decide to go back into the workforce.
In the end you have to ask yourself, what would you be? Leader or Manager?
Apres Ski
On November 8, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Read the article about Parental Neglect . . . and this might clue you into your boss & all that crappy behaviour!
http://socyberty.com/issues/parental-neglect-the-passive-abuse/#comment-187822