What Kind of Bad Boss Are You?

According to Yahoo Finance via BusinessWeek, there are ten different types of “bad bosses”. The list is fairly amusing, that is, unless you fit into one of these descriptions! I’ve only chosen to list five of the ten, but if you’d like to read the entire article by Jeff Schmitt, click here.

1. Don’t Know Your Job- These types of bosses are the ones who are sort of out of touch with reality- the ones who tell their employees that they need to do everything (usually because their boss is simply clueless him or herself!)
2. Don’t Listen- This is a popular one. I can remember attending several meetings with my “superiors” in which they were more interested in sending text messages, emails and checking their Blackberries than they were actually interested in the conversations going on around them at the meeting! It would behoove you to pay attention to what your constituents are saying, this way you are well-informed about what direction your business is heading in.
3. Close-Minded- Part of being successful in the business world means being open to new ideas and ways of thinking. Just because you landed in a successful position based on hard work and other factors doesn’t mean that doing things one way, all of the time will yield the same results. Before shooting down an employee’s idea, set aside your pride and really hear what it is that they have to say.
4. Poor Preparation- Remember when you weren’t listening earlier? Well, now it’s come back to bite you. In a management position, every time you make unexpected changes, start hosting ‘emergency meetings’ or start subpoenaing your employees for last-minute workload dumps, your employees will be able to figure out what is going on pretty quickly. Poor management indicates poor preparation for the unexpected, which translates to your employees as “Start looking for another job QUICK because my boss has no idea what the heck he/she is doing!” Nobody wants to stay on a sinking ship, so get it together before there’s a mutiny.
5. Not Building Skills- As a manager, part of your job description entails encouraging your employees to broaden their outlook, push them beyond their comfort zones (but not too much), exemplify corporate values and focus on learning and advancing. No one likes to have a micro manager as a boss; but then again, no one likes to have a boss that is so hands-off, that your employees start to wonder whether or not they even work for someone.