Whenever I speak at events across the country, I break down leadership to its most basic and practical form: It’s about meeting the needs of people and developing them to their fullest potential.
When employees don’t get the tools, training, time, development, clear expectations, vision, or resources they need to do their jobs well, employees experience low morale; they stop caring and they stop trying, unfortunately, as early as the first few weeks on the job.
Unfortunately, not every person in a management role is created equal. If I may be candid, some have no business being in the role of influencing others.
When the rubber meets the road, these are five of the most common toxic management behaviors I’ve encountered over the years.
Managers that show narcissistic tendencies.
In its extreme form, this is unfortunate for both manager and employee. For the manager, it’s an actual mental condition known as narcissistic personality disorder that requires medical attention.
For employees, pathologically narcissistic managers could ruin their careers. Joseph Burgo, author of The Narcissist You Know: Defending Yourself Against Extreme Narcissists in an All-About-Me Age, says this person “often relies on contempt to make others feel like losers, proving himself a winner in the process. He will belittle your work product or ridicule you at meetings. When he needs something from you, he may become threatening. At his most toxic, he will make you doubt yourself and your ultimate value to your employer.”
Managers that don’t recognize their people for good work.
Don’t underestimate the power that comes from recognizing high performers who are intrinsically motivated. In fact, The Gallup Organization has surveyed more than 4 million employees worldwide on this topic. They found that people who receive regular recognition and praise:
- increase their individual productivity.
- increase engagement among their colleagues.
- are more likely to stay with their organization.
- receive higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers.
- have better safety records and fewer accidents on the job.
Managers that treat people like numbers.
In top-down power structures, employees are viewed as worker bees and considered to be objects or expenses rather than assets; there is little concern for their happiness or well-being. After all, the motive for hiring them was purely for productivity and profit.
There’s little evidence of leaders’ compassion and empathy in seeing employees as valued human beings. As a result, you’ll encounter high levels of stress, turnover, absenteeism, and burnout.
Managers that have way too much control.
A manager that micromanages to the last detail is a control freak. The work environment is overbearing and stifling because he or she wants control over decisions. This manager distrusts the team, therefore, delegating tasks to workers is a rare event.
Typically, you’ll find that there’s hardly room for group discussion or input because the management style is autocratic and overbearing, which stifles creativity or employees’ desire to learn something new.
Loyal workers trying to find meaning and purpose in their jobs are left with nothing but taking their marching orders. It may be time to update your resume under such conditions.
Managers that don’t share information.
A leading cause of turnover — when done repeatedly and intentionally — is hoarding information, which is an utter lack of personal and organizational transparency on the manager’s part.
It goes back to the manager who’s a control freak. It’s a power trip, and employees can’t trust this type of manager as far as they can see him.
If you’ve read Patrick Lencioni’s masterpiece The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, you already know that the foundation for any good relationship is trust — it’s the foundation for his pyramid model — and that foundation of trust simply cannot happen without transparency at work.
As a result, employees working for managers who openly share information will work harder for them, respect them more, be more innovative, and solve problems much faster.
Final thoughts.
Retaining your best people and engaging them at a high level comes down to how you treat and serve them. For this to happen, it’s critical to connect to them in a relational way, help them grow, and and provide for them what they need to succeed.