Good Boss, Bad Boss is a serious book, and certainly there is plenty of evidence that bad bosses do much harm and good bosses do a great deal of good for their followers, customers, and organizations. But it is nice to take a break now and then and have some fun. So I thought it might be fun to come up with a top ten list of funny, weird, astounding, and otherwise amusing (if sometimes destructive) things that clueless bosses do. Research on power poisoning suggests that because wielding authority over others leads to "dis-inhibition," impulsiveness, and disregard for and detachment from the reactions of others -- so bosses are likely to do some pretty strange and offensive things. Here are a few examples to get you started:
He walks around the office with his shoes off, and doesn't realize that his feet stink.
She picks her nose during meetings.
He talks VERY loudly on his cell phone, even when talking of company secrets.
She talks and talks and talks, and seems incapable of listening.
He keeps forgetting to zip-up his pants after going to the men's room.
When we go to lunch, she eats food off our plates without asking permission
He calls women "honey" and "sweetheart" and doesn't realize that they find it offensive.
I would love to hear other examples. I will propose a top 10 or 15 list after going through your comments and emails. Bonus points for stories and real examples -- but for this kind of thing, let's err on the side of being too silly rather than too serious.
If you're an employee with a boss, you should take my survey called the BRASS (Boss Reality Assessment Survey System). It will help you determine if your work for a bad boss. Or, as Guy Kawasaki likes to put it, if you work for a certified brasshole.
See my book, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to be the best... and learn from the worst, now a New York Times bestseller.
Thanks to Robert I. Sutton / PsychologyToday
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