HOW TO BE THE WORLDS WORST MANAGER:

A STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO RUN YOUR DEPARTMENT AS INEFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE

PART 3

Today we embark on the third phase of how to become the World’s Worst Manager.  To do this you’ll have to cast your mind way back, to when you were sitting on your mother’s knee or listening intently to your long suffering teachers.  You’ll remember the advice they so desperately tried to impart to you that the best way to lead is by example.  If that is in deed true, what example exactly would the World’s Worst Manager be setting for his / her employees?

The World’s Worst Manager teaches his / her employees the following:

Dishonesty is acceptable. Bad manager’s typically engage in the following types of behaviours, all of which create an environment in which dishonesty is considered to be acceptable:

• Over-promise and under-deliver (both to clients and to employees) – the important thing is to seal the deal or stay out of trouble. After all there’ll always be a handy patsy floating around to take the fall.
• Always take the credit for a job well done even if others were instrumental in the success as well.
• Downplay own mistakes and over emphasize past successes.
• Use ignorance as an excuse for poor performance or as justification for mistakes made i.e. make use of phrases such as “I didn’t know” or “No one told me”.

Look for the negative. Bad managers are virtually Olympic class “discouragers”. They consistently focus on the negative aspects of any situation and actively discourage the generation of new ideas by finding all the reasons why an idea won’t work. They are overly critical of the decisions made by others and have adopted the viewpoint that everyone is out to get them.

Treat people with disrespect.  Bad managers work on the assumption that the amount of respect shown to others is directly proportional to the status level occupied by the person within the organization.  By that logic managers are guaranteed the respect of their employees by virtue of their job title, and have no obligation to behave respectfully towards their employees as this is not warranted by their position within the organization.  Disrespectful behavior manifests itself in a myriad of ways:

• Failing to abide by basic company policies and procedures e.g. punctuality, while simultaneously disciplining staff for these same transgressions. Late arrival and early departures as well as long lunches are after all the right of every over stressed manager.
• Not taking into consideration the deadlines of subordinates and providing essential information or input at the last possible minute.  The fact that these employees will now have to work overtime in order to meet their deadlines is not the concern of our illustrious leader.
• Making last minute changes to reports and / or presentations the day these are due. The amount of work that is required to effect these changes is irrelevant and the extension of thanks or apologies to effected employees certainly isn’t necessary.
• Lecturing staff on the importance of working within a budget and the negative impact that overspending will have on the department and then turning around and making maximum use of all managerial perks causing the departmental budget to become further restricted.

By embracing the premise that one leads by example, we can be rest assured that our current quest will not only result in the creation of the World’s Worst Manager, but also in the World’s Worst Employee! Now that’s a result any manager should fight to take credit for.

Join me again next time when we continue down the road of effective mismanagement!

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