The 7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Managers
Is your team too motivated, too productive, too efficient? Are you plagued by met deadlines, above-average work, and high team morale? It's a nagging problem that many managers encounter and it can seriously derail your quest for mediocrity.
Luckily, it's fairly easy to wipe that satisfied, "I love my job" look off the faces of your employees. Bad management starts at the top, so it's up to you to implement this inefficiency program, one step at a time.
- Be reactive. Try very hard not to anticipate problems, roadblocks, or conflicts, and act surprised when they emerge. Better yet: point the finger at someone on your staff. Nothing screams "bad management!" more than passing the buck as frequently as possible.
- Forget setting goals. Just start with a project and see where it takes you. The aimless meandering, constantly revised deadlines, and uncertainty about what the outcome is supposed to be will keep your team on their toes and prevent well-being. A little stress goes a long way toward lowering productivity.
- Remember that all tasks are equally urgent. Are you torn between deciding whether it's better to reorganize your office furniture or get that sales report completed before today's meeting? Relax! The third rule of inefficiency states that prioritization is pointless; all tasks need to get done at some point, so why not just do the one that tickles your fancy first? A bonus: it's even better to pull your team into helping you complete your tasks, so they don't get too caught up focusing on theirs.
- Think of yourself first. There's no such thing as a mutually beneficial solution; that's called a compromise, which means you don't get exactly what you want. You're the manager. You're higher up on the totem pole. Ergo, your wishes trump theirs; the needs and wants of your employees don't matter.
- Give out lots of unsolicited or inappropriate advice. Forget playing psychologist; you don't need to understand your employees or even empathize with them. Offer plenty of suggestions for how they can solve their problems but don't offer any support. When in doubt, tell them what you would do in their situation. You're the boss, which means you're smarter than them anyway.
- Foster an atmosphere of isolation. Collaboration can lead to dangerously creative and effective teams. Make sure all your employees work on their own with minimal interaction with or input from their colleagues. (They'd just waste time bonding and getting to know each other anyway, which can create the unfortunate side effects of synergy and productivity.) Stomp out any differences in opinion and immediately quash innovation if it rears its ugly head.
- Remain singularly focused on work. "Work-life balance" is just another trick to make you happier and more productive; don't fall for it. Spend as much time as possible at the office -- it's ideal if you don't have any personal life or hobbies whatsoever -- and expect your employees to follow your lead. If they're well-rested and their recreational pastimes fuel their job performance, it will be very difficult to avoid success.