20 TRAITS OF THE MANAGER IN DISGUISE YOU ALREADY KNOW
When good employees leave good organizations, studies show, the number one reason for leaving is poor management. Notice, I mentioned "good employees," because poor employees thrive in this environment. Even the most principled employee has his or her limit as to how much dysfunction they will put up with before getting off the bus.
An organization's culture is driven by the amount of dysfunction the people who are in positions of authority/leadership are willing to put up with. Great leaders are so few and far between, it's common to find "Managers in Disguise" at the top of the organizational chart keeping the organization from reaching its full potential.
A Manager in Disguise:
1. Does not continually invest in himself or anyone else on the job or off. (Fine with the status-quo)
2. Yells at employees to force influence. (Rules like he has the same authority as the employee's parent)
3. Believes that dressing the part will compensate for lack of leadership talent. (Superficial character)
4. Doesn't know what he doesn't know about leadership. (Believes authority is all he needs to rule)
5. Believes his affiliations are more important than his accomplishments. (Believes job security depends on how many friends he has)
6. Withholds information from employees to use it as power over them later. (Insecure in his position)
7. Does not hold employees or himself accountable. (Indecisive and unwilling to confront insubordination)
8. Plays favorites with assignments. (Consistently unfair behavior and choices)
9. Talks to hear himself talk. (Talks over people with no intent to listen or understand others points of view)
10. Offers incentives that spur short term results instead of addressing the real problem which is his/her inability to lead which would add long term value. (Attempts to buy influence instead of focusing on personal growth and earning influence)
11. Regularly takes credit for the quality of someone else's efforts. (Deliberately refuses to recognize others accomplishments out of fear for his own job)
12. Seizes every opportunity to grandstand in the presence of the boss. (Continually throws others under the bus to make himself look good)
13. Set's others up to fail in front of the bosses to make himself look good. (Master manipulator)
14. Will never step aside to allow someone else to do what he cannot. (In it for the money, and doesn't care about anyone else)
15. Regularly asks others to do what he is not willing to do himself. (Hypocritical behavior)
16. Asks business questions in front of others that he already has the answers to just so he can correct you when your answers are not the same as his. (Withholds information and the direction for the organization so you do not know the answers to his questions)
17. Exhibit's or has exhibited unethical behaviors. (Garners no respect or power)
18. Does not put forth a quality effort for every hour on the job. (Expects everyone else to though)
19. Onboard those he deems aren't a threat to him. (Sophomoric hiring technique)
20. Doesn't believe training up his successor is a priority. (Attempting to ensure everyone knows how needed he is when he's absent)
Lack of dissemination is self-incrimination. It's my belief that the only answer to the "Manager in Disguise" dilemma is deliberate and proactive mass dissemination of content such as this even when it's not yours. A leader's job is to build more leaders, even on social media. This action will help your brand, not hurt it. Allowing employees at all levels of every organization, white collar, blue collar, governmental and private the opportunity to understand what to be on the lookout for and how to address it will make us all stronger. Managers in Disguise will and are purposefully and aggressively suppressing content such as this in an effort to prolong their reign. It's unfortunate that most employees will just have to wait for their Manager in Disguise to retire or their organization to get bought out before they have a chance to experience their organization's true potential.
In this article, I have given you some things to think about and share, in my book MANAGERS IN DISGUISE-LEADERS IN DISGUST; you will find ways to address all of these issues. Get your copy today and help me help you and others.
