The corporate world.. a world full of bureaucracy, red tapes, politics and fake people with agendas. I left all that after 8 years because I realise you have to be fake and nice to get where you want to be. You have to be a politician to get noticed and recognised unless your managers is real and is there because their bosses are real and see the true work you do. The rest of the managers, well somehow they were fake and nice to somebody who was fake and nice and eventually got to where they were. And in the corporate world, real nice managers and employees finish last.. sad but true.
And I suppose this bureaucracy is more apparent in an Asian culture where hierarchy is so important. In the asian culture we have always been brought up to respect our elders, respect their decisions and getting promoted to the next level feels like I am one up over the rest. The traditional managers always think what they say counts.
Through my observation, I think I can single out some of these managers and if you have others that I did not cover, please put down in the comments below.
My list of managers you love to hate, though I may write as he it can jolly well apply to a 'she' as well:
1. The Dictator
Well whatever this managers say counts... even if it is wrong or unethical. This managers have been brought up and entrenched so deeply in the asian culture that he feels superior to the rest of the people who are not his peers. He is afraid of losing control thus he needs to know everything thus he becomes a micro-manager. Whatever you do is not good enough, because it cannot be because he feels that he is the best so how can your work be better than his? He is asking you about your progress of a certain project almost daily. He wants to know who you are working with, how you getting it done. And nothing you do seems to satisfy him. He gets his ego boost from knowing his ideas are better and that is why he is there.. not you.
2. The Michael Jackson Boss
In the Michael Jackson song Black or White, the lyrics go: It don't matter if its black or white. For this manager, his lyrics probably will sound more like: It don't matter, it has to be black and white. These managers love emails. Whatever you need help with you need to email. Boss I need an approval for the project, email me. Boss I going on leave, email me. Boss, client wants better price, email me. Boss, stomachache need to go toilet, email me....
Sure in some management training they say these managers are Visual people in the VAK model. Probably so... some of them are just covering their backside. They want everything in black and white so that their asses are covered, they send you an email they print it out so that if you ever go back and say I never see, they whip out a file with all their emails, put on one white glove and say 'thereeee...' all the date, time and content capture in black and white.. eeeeyooooww. Backside covered. The extreme ones will even set settings so that a return email will pop up when you supposedly read them or delete the email without reading. It is then also printed out and filed.
3. The Parent
This manager though very similar to being a dictator but can be very nice sometimes but the problem is they always treat you like kids. They always feel that being new and fresh out of school we ain't thinking adults yet. We cannot be left alone to do things on our own. Constant monitoring and mentoring is needed. Yes, some but not all. They treat staff like kids and feel staff should be scolded when they do things wrong.
Had a run in with a boss like that, asked me why I never scold my staff, is it because I like being popular. Told him it is not being popular but it is a respect that I know what they are doing and treating them like adults. He said, adults? You think those people outside are adults? They are acting like kids. Told him that if he continues to think them as kids they will always be kids. its just like if you give peanuts, you don't expect tigers to appear. You are gonna get monkeys. So if you feel your staff is like children, they will be like children to reciprocate how they are being treated.
4. The Mama-san
These managers are like social butterflies. They are where their bosses at, whether they are really capable it does not matter. They are just damn good at PR. Their bosses probably got promoted the same way and he is telling you, you need to be seen in front of your boss. He will step over their peers or worse step over their own boss to go direct to the boss's boss.
You may be asked to do the same thing so that your boss can look good like his whole team worships the ground the boss's boss walks on. You indirectly have been implicated to become a slave to your boss and boss's boss. They get promoted not because of the work they do but because this person will look good in front of people.
If you are a female staff and look ok sometimes you get pushed to get recognised in front of the boss's boss. This happens in social gatherings and when alcohol is involved.... thus your boss like mama-san and you maybe blinded by the promise of promotion and all.
5. The Not-For-Profit
Ever entered a department and did not know what to do? You do not know where the department is heading? You have no mission because the boss has none or a very loose one.Your mission, vision and core value is on the wall but it does not seem the department is moving that way? Your boss is soft and weak. He does not have a mind of his own. Some people can be contented with bosses like that. Just chill relax, other departments know that your boss is like charitable organisation, they know you will do whatever that is thrown to him. They take it on. Typical yes man.
You get thrown the extra work to do without the extra pay. You start thinking what the hell you are doing things that are totally unrelated to you. You start wondering what the mission and vision on the wall really means. You start feeling that whatever you do has no more meaning.
So if you have other experiences with lousy bosses please comment below :)
