Re:Signs You're a Bad Boss
by chc on Monday February 14, 2011 @03:45PM
(#2218581)
I'm sure you can come up with a similar number of contrived examples where one of the named signs is similarly a "valid" practice.
For example, there are positions where yelling loudly is imperative. For example, do you want the manager of a construction site to quietly state that a beam looks unstable?
There are also jobs where sickness is common even if you're the best boss in the world. Kindergarten teachers get sick because children are icky, germ-ridden little things, not because their boss is a jerk.
I think measuring inappropriate things is one of the biggest problems with bad management. It's the best way to ensure that your employees are either mediocre or pathological.
However, it's not a sign of bad management. That list is literally meant to be a list of things you can notice about the place you're managing and say, "Holy cow, these are warning signs! I should examine the situation closely." If the manager knows his benchmarks are broken beyond use but persists in using them, he likely doesn't care about anything in this article.
For example, there are positions where yelling loudly is imperative. For example, do you want the manager of a construction site to quietly state that a beam looks unstable?
There are also jobs where sickness is common even if you're the best boss in the world. Kindergarten teachers get sick because children are icky, germ-ridden little things, not because their boss is a jerk.
I think measuring inappropriate things is one of the biggest problems with bad management. It's the best way to ensure that your employees are either mediocre or pathological.
However, it's not a sign of bad management. That list is literally meant to be a list of things you can notice about the place you're managing and say, "Holy cow, these are warning signs! I should examine the situation closely." If the manager knows his benchmarks are broken beyond use but persists in using them, he likely doesn't care about anything in this article.