The 3 Traits of a Bad Manager

Do you demonstrate these three traits? If so, you may be a Bad Manager.

One of the challenges in many organisations is that we expect people to become managers as they move up the chain and expect them to magically know how to be a good one. Many companies do not provide the training, mentoring, practice and time to build good managers. In fact, a Deloitte report revealed that 87% of companies admit they don’t do an excellent job at developing their leaders.

Managers, both experienced and new alike, sometimes struggle to make the transition from a follower to a leader, negatively impacting the team and the company. The Harvard Business Review reports that there is a strong correlation showing good bosses lead employees to increase revenue, while bad bosses negate other investments (such as career paths, remuneration and other benefits) to improve employee engagement.

A common trait of poor managers is focusing too much on their own performance and not realising that they are still accountable to their people. A good manager brings the team along on the journey, a bad one forgets there is a team.

Based on research by Gartner, the three most detrimental traits fall into three categories:

1. Low Emotional Intelligence

• Quickly dismisses ideas from others
• Does not recognize contributions from others
• Micromanages direct reports
• Reacts negatively to criticism
• Seeks gain at the expense of others
• Manipulates others

2. Lack of Critical Thinking

• Easily swayed by opinions
• Jumps to hasty conclusions
• Does not share relevant information
• Focuses too heavily on the details
• Confusing symptoms for the root cause

3. Abdication of Ownership

• Personal values do not align to the organisation’s values
• Does not take responsibility for the team’s work
• Does not participate when the team is undergoing change

Surprisingly enough, research has shown that the most negative trait is failing to recognise the contributions of others, which negatively impacts the effectiveness of managers by 31%.

Do people you know demonstrate these traits? What did you do about them?

Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash