Bad Bosses: What Kind are You?
Time to Face Your Reports
The day of reckoning has arrived. Your leadership skills need an overhaul. Any of these shortcomings sound familiar?
1. Don't Know Your Job
You take over calls. Doctors and staff think you are an idiot because you ramble on and say nothing. You can't read spreadsheets and you constantly get it wrong or don't understand the questions well enough to be able to answer anything intelligently. You don't communicate with the team at all. Rumors get started because you tell one or two members of the team and they leak it out to the rest. You lie. We know it. You think you are pulling one over on us. How do you expect anyone to respect or trust you?
2. Don't Listen
Have you noticed that nobody calls you? That is because you offer nothing. You get angry and defensive if a question is asked or someone asks for suggestions or a strategy.
3. Closed-Minded
You think you are the best salesperson and you have strong relationship building skills. You are too blind to see that you have zero chemistry with the team and the doctors.
4. Poor Preparation
You are so overwhelmed and stressed out and everything is all about you. Analysis of numbers is wrong half the time, you don't know answers to valid questions, and you knowingly omit crucial information because you are afraid of confrontation. Your whole game plan is to keep everyone at arms length with your bullying and threats, tell only certain reps valuable information, and mix in lots of lies so people are always guessing what you are plotting behind the scenes.
5. Not Building Skills
You need to build your own skills before you can even attempt to offer anything of value to the team.
6. Overzealous
History remembers the tyrants but rarely the subjects who did the heavy lifting. It's no different here. You've created a divide-and-conquer atmosphere, all stick and no carrot, where everyone should be the same workaholic reflection of you. Eventually, your bullying and rah-rah intensity produces one question: "Why?" You may think we should be in "for life," but what are you giving back in return for that blind loyalty? Enough with the same conference call chatter. Ten minutes to ask how everyone's weekend was? Seriously? We know how much money we can make and you don't have to have that skit rehearsed every week.
7. Don't Maintain Discipline
Do you really think it is a good practice to constantly berate the entire team for something one person did? Did you read that in one of your management books? Nobody knows what you are so worked up about and the one person who does thinks you are an ass. Actually everyone thinks you are an ass when you start to lecture. You also play favorites. Again, a big mistake.
8. Never Heard of Tact
You always remind us that we're replaceable and you will help us find another job. Yes, it's your legendary bluntness. Sadly, your lack of self-awareness results in everyone—superiors and reports—maligning or marginalizing you. You need to build and nurture relationships. And that requires people skills: listening, honesty, understanding, and compromising. Think you're up for that?
9. Lack of Influence
Next week is the managers meeting and you are not a rookie, but a last place manager. You were big on talk and promises but now everyone realizes that you have nothing to back it up. You are short on talent and results.
10. Blindside Us
Ah, there's nothing like a surprise. Whether you're singling us out in public or ambushing us in private, you're not afraid to render judgments and deliver lectures. Despite our advanced degrees and track records, you still treat us as servants. Instead of dropping the news all at once, give us fair warning when our performance doesn't meet expectations. Always take action immediately—and discreetly.
Time to Face Your Reports
The day of reckoning has arrived. Your leadership skills need an overhaul. Any of these shortcomings sound familiar?
1. Don't Know Your Job
You take over calls. Doctors and staff think you are an idiot because you ramble on and say nothing. You can't read spreadsheets and you constantly get it wrong or don't understand the questions well enough to be able to answer anything intelligently. You don't communicate with the team at all. Rumors get started because you tell one or two members of the team and they leak it out to the rest. You lie. We know it. You think you are pulling one over on us. How do you expect anyone to respect or trust you?
2. Don't Listen
Have you noticed that nobody calls you? That is because you offer nothing. You get angry and defensive if a question is asked or someone asks for suggestions or a strategy.
3. Closed-Minded
You think you are the best salesperson and you have strong relationship building skills. You are too blind to see that you have zero chemistry with the team and the doctors.
4. Poor Preparation
You are so overwhelmed and stressed out and everything is all about you. Analysis of numbers is wrong half the time, you don't know answers to valid questions, and you knowingly omit crucial information because you are afraid of confrontation. Your whole game plan is to keep everyone at arms length with your bullying and threats, tell only certain reps valuable information, and mix in lots of lies so people are always guessing what you are plotting behind the scenes.
5. Not Building Skills
You need to build your own skills before you can even attempt to offer anything of value to the team.
6. Overzealous
History remembers the tyrants but rarely the subjects who did the heavy lifting. It's no different here. You've created a divide-and-conquer atmosphere, all stick and no carrot, where everyone should be the same workaholic reflection of you. Eventually, your bullying and rah-rah intensity produces one question: "Why?" You may think we should be in "for life," but what are you giving back in return for that blind loyalty? Enough with the same conference call chatter. Ten minutes to ask how everyone's weekend was? Seriously? We know how much money we can make and you don't have to have that skit rehearsed every week.
7. Don't Maintain Discipline
Do you really think it is a good practice to constantly berate the entire team for something one person did? Did you read that in one of your management books? Nobody knows what you are so worked up about and the one person who does thinks you are an ass. Actually everyone thinks you are an ass when you start to lecture. You also play favorites. Again, a big mistake.
8. Never Heard of Tact
You always remind us that we're replaceable and you will help us find another job. Yes, it's your legendary bluntness. Sadly, your lack of self-awareness results in everyone—superiors and reports—maligning or marginalizing you. You need to build and nurture relationships. And that requires people skills: listening, honesty, understanding, and compromising. Think you're up for that?
9. Lack of Influence
Next week is the managers meeting and you are not a rookie, but a last place manager. You were big on talk and promises but now everyone realizes that you have nothing to back it up. You are short on talent and results.
10. Blindside Us
Ah, there's nothing like a surprise. Whether you're singling us out in public or ambushing us in private, you're not afraid to render judgments and deliver lectures. Despite our advanced degrees and track records, you still treat us as servants. Instead of dropping the news all at once, give us fair warning when our performance doesn't meet expectations. Always take action immediately—and discreetly.