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Meet 9 managers who crush employees’ success

By Vicki Gerson | Creative business-to-business and business-to-consumer writer for custom, trade, consumer, and online publications

Here are nine types of managers who can’t mange well, nor use their employees’ talents, knowledge, and skills effectively.

1. Arrogant managers prevent the employees they supervise from getting ahead through behavior that demeans others in an attempt to prove their own competency and superiority. Left unchecked, arrogant leaders can be a destructive force within an organization with power over their employees’ work assignments, promotion opportunities, and performance reviews. Stanley Silverman, dean of the University of Akron’s Summit College and University College, believes that arrogant bosses place subordinates in helpless positions. Silverman, an organizational psychologist, presented the Workplace Arrogance Scale to the American Psychological Association convention in August 2013.
Besides manager arrogance, Rick Maurer, author of “Why Don’t You Want What I Want?”, is not surprised employees are unsuccessful and can’t advance their careers working for other types of managers.

2. Unclear managers provide confusing directions to their employees. Too many times, employees are guessing what the boss really wants. These employees will rarely get the task completed to the manager’s satisfaction.

3. Micro-managing managers characterize the boss/employee relationship as: “not one employee can do the job as well as I can.” This manager constantly interferes and is never willing to let the employee have control over the project.

4. Unrealistic demands manager don’t give their employees sufficient time to complete the work. Sometimes, they sit with the employee until the work is finished or constantly ask for revisions.

5. Unsure manager block the progression of their staff as a way of protecting themselves as lesser leaders. They don’t want any employee’s skills to overshadow them.

6. Lack of interest manager fail to get the best out of their people because they ignore the talents each employee possesses, David Lewis, president and founder of OperationsInc, points out. They don’t really know the people who work for them and won’t take the time to determine where they excel. The end result: it becomes impossible for any of the employees working for this manager to have a chance to succeed.
Andrea Herran, a seasoned human resource professional at Focus HR with international experience, has seen how managers prevent employees from succeeding in their jobs.

7. Proactive manager. The I will do it manager thinks that when a problem arises, only his skills will save time and get the job done more quickly. This management style prevents employees from learning how to solve problems on their own.

8. Selective listener. An I won’t listen manager believes all the right answers rests with her. This boss is positive that the employee can’t contribute knowledge to the project. This style prevents the manager from learning which employees have valuable input.

9. Self-serving manager takes all the credit will never let her employees gain the recognition they deserve. This manager will purposely prevent employees from advancing in the organization.
Managers play a pivotal role in the success or failure of an organization. Whether in good or difficult economic times, employees of unqualified managers will never reach their full potential to benefit the company.

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