How to Be the Worst Manager but the Best Boss

How to Be the Worst Manager but the Best BossHow to Be the Worst Manager but the Best BossHow to Be the Worst Manager but the Best Boss K. Williams, author of The 7 Non-Negotiables of Winning Tying Soft Traits to Hard Results (Wiley, 2013)The worst managers can make the best leaders. And a great leader can become the very best kind of boss. How can this be true? Ill explain.To begin with, consider what a managers role truly is. Their job is essentially to accomplish work through others. Managers instruct, supervise, motivate, evaluate, and mete out rewards and punishments.Some manage from behind by cracking the whip, micromanaging, and shouting orders in the same way cattlemen or shepherds manage by fear, intimidation, and authority.The first problem in this scenario is the way people come to be managers in the first place.Typically, managers are employees who are promoted because of their expertise in a certain subject matter.They move up in an organization by becoming highly profic ient in their original jobs.Unfortunately, despite their skill in their previously held roles, they are generally untrained as managers. Many lack mentors or positive role models to guide them in this much different path.And even when companies provide training, it is generally schooling on the various facets of measuring work production and controlling employee behaviors (I refer to this as managing from behind).Little or no thing is taught about the character traits and values a company stands for, the ones it would seemingly want its managers the face of the company for every employee within it to represent and exude.So what do these individuals do? They become terrible managers because they do the followingMicromanageTake credit for others ideas and projectsCreate rules for the many that are meant to police and control the behavior of a fewMake decisions that support their near-term compensation at the expense of the organizations long-term goalsHire and fire the wrong people for the wrong reasonsRule by force, fear, intimidation, and titleNone of these approaches achieves anything positive. A team will naturally follow a leader who is willing to lead from the front, instead of drive from behind.We could write many books on bad managerial behavior. In general, however, the result is the work environment we all know too well fear, mistrust, worries over job security, and feelings of unfairness and ill will and a terrible company culture.What Can and Should Businesses Do?For one thing, they can take a cue from our company, where we have extended the principles of Agile Development into Agile Leadership. Management is simply not a korrekt in the Fishbowl vernacular. We create paired leadership teams that guide and empower employees to do their jobs in the way they see fit.Our Captains work side by side with their teams, rather than directing and controlling them in a traditional sense. They lead from the front and set the pace. They show by example and t heir people follow.Captains are terrible managers, but they are incredible leaders whose teams produce great results. Here are a few of the traits that can turn a seemingly terrible manager into an incredible boss1.Trust your employees to get their jobs done. No micromanaging allowed.2.Help others get ahead when deserved, even at your own expense. What a novel idea Dont concern yourself with climbing the corporate ladder. If your people and teams are successful, youll naturally rise, as well.3.Give credit where it is due. Dont take undeserved credit for others work, however enticing the idea might be. It will not pay off.4.Set the strategy, but allow others to choose their own tactic. Its amazing how empowering and motivating it can be when individuals get to manage the details of how they achieve a particular strategic goal. They will become unstoppable.5. Hold fewer (and more focused) meetings. The fewer attendees you have at each meeting, the better. Define exactly what you need to achieve in each meeting, and stick to an agenda when you arrive.6.Celebrate failure and reward innovation. Encourage team members to try new things, even when you know that they wont always produce perfect results. They will make mistakes which are opportunities to learn and Fail Up. This will result in employees who are brave and excited to work.7.Be in the people business. If your people know that you have their backs, trust them, and care for their well-being and their families, they will naturally be motivated to work hard for you.How do you find individuals with this terrible-manager potential?Against prevailing wisdom, they may not be proficient (or even familiar) with the teams tasks. But they will be highly capable and teachable in the values your organization stands for. The rest will follow.An anthropology graduate could become a development lead. A licensed attorney could lead a world-class sales organization. A culinary student could become a standout leader in custo mer support.An electrician could become a top sales executive. A banker could become a top account manager. The possibilities are endless.Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Wiley, from The 7 Non-Negotiables of Winning Tying Soft Traits to Hard Results by David K. Williams. Copyright (c) 2013 by David K. Williams. All rights reserved. This book is available at all bookstores and online booksellers.Read MoreDo your Managers Know How to Manage People?A Guide for New Managers Six Steps to Become a Successful ManagerManagement Skills Managing Emotions in the Workplace