As you recall employees that are empowered and are truly committed to a company's goals are usually satisfied with their work and actually enjoy their jobs. We can all agree that leaders play an important role in creating a work environment that supports employee engagement and that it leads to a positive impact to an organization's bottom-line.
I applaud companies that promote from within, but I cringe when some of those companies ignore the fact that their newly promoted leader is lacking skills in leadership and coaching. They figure that an incredible doer will naturally be an incredible leader. Nothing is further from the truth. Yes, sometimes leaders are born, but more often great leaders are groomed and guided with the help of incredible leadership training and coaching experiences.
I'm sure that bad management is not a malicious premeditated goal of the person that happens to be killing you softly at the office right now. It's a result of not having experience or the opportunity of training to develop their management style and possibly they are experiencing some stress when they are not meeting department goals. They generally have communication issues, and don't know how to lead. Intimidation, fear, "the stick and not the carrot" may be tactics they are trying to experiment with, since short term results may lead them to believe that these methods will carry them in the long run.
This is what I have learned from my experience of working with bad bosses: (I added a bit of satirical humor into it, but it's done to highlight the effects of a negative environment.)
1. Perfection becomes your mantra. There is no room for error---ever!! You train yourself to check everything 4 or 5 times and then have someone else check it as well. The "stick and not the carrot" management style is evident if you make a mistake. The feedback you get from your manager after an error makes you want to opt for being beat by a stick, than to have to listen to more of their "feedback."
2. You become "MacGyver." The bottom line is you don't have enough time or information to do your job. You can't ask your boss, so you learn to "make-do." You become innovative and learn CSI investigative skills to obtain 70% of the information you need and you begin to learn that 70% is enough.
3. You learn how to fly under the radar. If you are in a meeting and you are asked for feedback about your last project, you smile and agree all went well. You have learned from previous exchanges that your feedback (even though you and your co-workers have great ideas to actually improve things) is not being genuinely sought out. It's sort of like when the manager asks, "How are you?", and then walks away. It's their habit to ask, but resist the urge to respond. If you do get ready to get more of that "stick and no carrot" behavior.
4. You learn to adjust your behavior in a matter of seconds. This is because you can now read or anticipate the mood your boss will be in. You can anticipate how often your boss will "check-in" with you and by correctly reading their moods you can actually avoid the temper tantrums and land mines on the horizon.
5. You develop close relationships with your co-workers. It's like the USMC. You enter the battlefield together and take care of each other. You uplift the recently "injured", and commiserate with one another. Your experience develops long lasting friendships that can follow you through your career. You can see that the experience is like being a Marine! (I think my warrior (Marine) son might appreciate my analogy!)
6. You learn when enough is enough. I don't recommend seeking out an anti-employee environment to learn the above items. I do however ask that if you happen to find yourself in a situation where the leaders in your organization "are killing you softly", that you understand that it is a personal decision as to whether you stay or go. Think of the stories circulating about employees sharing their abusive exchanges with Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. They stuck around because the learning opportunities were very beneficial to them, and the (alleged) abusive behavior was something they learned to manage and navigate. Know what your threshold for abuse is and learn how to manage this type of environment if you feel you can benefit from it.
My next blogs will be about how HR can help turn around a negative working environment from an employee and manager's vantage point. Please e-mail me if you have a topic you would like to see covered in my blog. Your comments and ideas are always welcomed.
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