It’s not hard to be a good leader. In essence, it comes down to motivating people, respecting people, encouraging people, providing feedback and rewarding people. It’s not rocket science!
But sadly, there are far too many bosses out there who have found themselves in charge of a team long before they’re actually ready for the responsibility. And the result is a very incompetent, very bad boss.
Not sure if your boss is actually bad or just having a bad day? Have a read of these terrible boss traits.
And if your boss does all five of these things… get out now!
1. Serious lack of communication
Ever had someone speak at you, not to you? It’s not very nice. Clear instructions, information and details are needed to ensure everyone on the team can do their work properly. Or perhaps you have a boss who communicates very well – at least in terms of saying offensive things and shouting a lot?!
The art of communication is such a vital part of any job, and if your boss is failing at this, then they’re not doing their job very well.
2. They rule by fear
A bad boss’s idea of motivation is yelling, demeaning and threatening staff to get the action they want.
If your manager threatens to fire you frequently, or makes comments about how he should “hire someone else who could get the job done”, you’re working with a tyrant. Positive motivation should be the way forward for a good leader – helping people achieve their best work with positive reinforcement, strong support, and guidance and feedback.
3. Always blames someone (or something) else
Someone who cannot take responsibility for their own actions, mistakes and failures is not ready for a leadership position. Unfortunately, some bosses think their fancy title comes with the right to point the finger at everyone else but themselves.
If the team fails at something, a good boss should help to figure out what went wrong and why, and then how to improve or fix things. A bad boss will say it’s the team’s fault, and probably walk away in a huff, slamming doors. Huge red flag.
4. No guidance, goals or vision
One of the key competencies of being a leader and manager of others is that he provides his staff with a structure to achieve set goals and targets. Without guidance, people can’t get there, and without proper goals and vision in the first place, employees have no chance at doing their best work for the business.
A bad boss leaves his employees floating around with no real purpose or direction.
5. They ignore your hard work, milestones and achievements (and don’t pay you well enough for them)
If you have consistently been achieving above and beyond your targets, have acquired new skills, and have been taking on more responsibilities than your job requires, you should – in time – be compensated for this. But if your boss is more than happy to keep piling the work on you and simply shoots you down when you want to discuss your performance for a promotion, watch out. Chances are, he’s not going to give you want you want very easily.
While you can’t expect a pay rise right away, if this has been a trend for over a year – you’re working under a bad boss. Time to either get HR involved, or set the wheels in motion to find your next role – hopefully under a more understanding, supportive leader!
