Sennewald - Traits of a jackass manager: a how-not-to guide for managers old and new

Traits of a Jackass Manager

A How-Not-To Guide for Managers Old and New

Charles A. Sennewald

Butterworth-Heinemann

Front Matter

Copyright

First published 2012.

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ISBN: 978-0-12-397197-5

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Traits of A Jackass Manager

A How-Not-To Guide for Managers Old and New

Outline

A grand total of 32 supervisory and managerial flaws found in organizational life are described in this humorous guide. Examples include the Know-It-All, the Snob, the Coward, Ol Negative, the Pirate, and the Secret Agent. Another term for these flaws is jackass management traits. Although its good to poke fun at some of these otherwise tragic characters, its troubling to think that many of these traits persist, and, in some cases, prevail. However, theres good news, too. These failings are rapidly being replaced with a new breed of leaders who understand and appreciate the values of human dignity and worth. This is not coming from the bottom up, but rather from the top down. Among senior management, there is a growing recognition that harsh and otherwise insensitive managers prod employees down the jackass trail, leading to dissatisfaction and decreased productivity, and that good leadership inspires self-motivation in employees.

Keywords: mismanagement, respect, subordinate, delegation, credit, communication, punitive action, trust, decisions, overreaction, priorities, pessimism, optimism, power

The management process of achieving organizational goals by working with and through other people is as much an art as a science. Those in leadership roles, irrespective of the level of responsibility, affect the lives of every employee who reports to him or her in both subtle and dramatic ways far more than many leaders suspect. What a manager says or does not say, or does or does not do, is highly visible to employees and is often carefully scrutinized. Flaws as well as strengths in ones management style tend to be exaggerated. By virtue of the manageremployee relationship, an exaggerated flaw can dominate and overshadow or otherwise neutralize good qualities.

Because we are all human, a managerial blunder committed in ignorance is forgivable. Theoretically, once the error is recognized, the manager will work to correct it. However, there are those who understand their past (and present) mistakes, yet, for whatever reasons, persist in exhibiting these known flaws in their daily managerial style. These flaws then become entrenched and hereinafter are referred to as jackass management traits.

It only stands to reason that employees who are resentful, disgusted, or disappointed; who feel cheated, underappreciated, ignored, or abused; or who are angry with their supervisors for any number of reasons are not going to do their best. Employees, who have a poor perception of their supervisor, and the employer are not going to perform as well as those who feel valued. This appears to be true in a wide variety of industries and at all levels of the supervisoremployee relationship. It behooves every supervisor to eradicate jackass management traits within their organization and to start by being an example to others. Knowing the managerial pitfalls or jackass traits is the first step in learning how to avoid them.

The Manager Who Seeks to be Liked Rather than Respected

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Figure 1-1 The Popularity Kid.

The Manager Who Ignores the Opinions and Advice of Employees

Also known as the know-it-all, one wonders if this type of supervisor really believes they know it all; or if such a manager is actually insecure and is fearful of employees discovering that he or she does not have all the answers all the time. There is nothing wrong with not having all the answers all the time. In fact, there is nothing wrong with being honest and saying, I dont know.

What really motivates and encourages many employees is to be asked, by their supervisor, What do you think? They think plenty! It is amazing how many smart people there are, and it is equally amazing what they can do in terms of solving problems and coming up with creative strategies and ideas. To ask individuals such questions as, What do you think?; What are we doing that we shouldnt be doing?; and What are we not doing that we should be doing? invariably brings out rich food for thought. To deny oneself and ones organization that input is akin to operating with one arm tied behind the back. After all, the collective wisdom of the group or department surely exceeds that of even the most brilliant managers.