Bad bosses don't just happen. They result from a three step process.
1) Someone hires them.
Almost anyone can behave well for the duration of an interview. Thus, bad candidates manage to fool the interviewer.
This can be easy to do because some interviewers use the wrong approach. They talk about themselves, the company, and the job. They focus on technical skills instead of behavior patterns. Or they ask the wrong questions. As a result they hire the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
Better: Define the criteria that represent an ideal candidate for the job being filled. Use a behavior and ethics based interview process. Understand behavior styles. Learn effective questioning and interviewing techniques.
2) Someone keeps them.
Once on the job, a person's true behavior emerges. Now everyone can witness screaming, meanness, deceit, and other toxic behaviors.
Ideally, someone (such as that person's boss) would take immediate action to stop such destructive behavior. Instead, everyone (including the person's boss) either ignores or allows it. This is bad because toxic behavior damages everyone's productivity. It can even result in the toxic person appearing to be more productive than others.
Better: Any toxic behavior must be confronted and stopped the first time it appears. This requires coaching for the first occurrence. Then it may require counseling. And if it continues, the toxic person should be fired. Of course, you will need to work with your HR group to identify resources and follow proper procedures.
3) Someone promotes them.
Some toxic employees appear to be top performers simply because they have destroyed the effectiveness of everyone else. Actually, their contributions may be minimal. And in some cases their actions can severely harm a business (i.e., cost money, delay projects, lose customers, cause resignations, prevent communication, and so on).
Many organizations award promotions based entirely on technical achievements. This becomes a problem if those achievements were gained through unsustainable actions such as false claims, intimidation, or politics.
Better: Award promotions into leadership positions based on proven leadership skills. Provide leadership training to prepare future leaders for such promotions. Establish clarity on the skills that represent effective leadership. Create a culture that facilitates good leadership.
Key Point: Bad bosses result from negligence in the basic activities of hiring, evaluating, and promoting people.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
PS: My workshops show people how to be good bosses, as well as effective leaders.
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
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