When you have a nincompoop for a boss

#BadManagers
#Dysfunction
#ToxicWorkPlaces

https://theowfactor.org/2026/05/01/when-you-have-a-nincompoop-for-a-boss/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

I'll never forget the first time I threw a direct report under the bus. I was in a sort of "manager-limbo" where I was leading a team but wasn't fully an administrative manager in the HR system. It was all very awkward.

Very shortly into this time period, my boss asked me a direct question about the status of something and why was it done the way it was. Immediately I felt like I was being called out and went into defensive mode.

My reply was something along the lines of, "I don't know, ask this-person, they did it".

My boss, whom I had worked for prior and was very much a mentor to me, immediately pulled me aside and said, "Did you just throw this-person under the bus? Dude, that's not how we lead".

I share this because I have never forgotten that moment. The realization of what my role truly was.

They fucked up? My fault. I step in front to protect them.

They kicked ass? I get the f*ck out of their way and let them shine!

I do my best to continue that approach to this day. I'm not perfect, but people who have reported to me seem to like me.

Thank you, @zate @zate75 for that prompt lesson.

#Leadership #Management #BadManagers #PeopleFirst

Today's #excerpt may or may not have been inspired by real life:

“Want to paint my office? Something about the evils of micromanagement would be appreciated.”

“Not by management.”

“Trash management,” he grumbled. “Please? Like, shove Polt into an incinerator for me? I’m too obvious a suspect to do it myself.”

#BadManagers

AI Makes Bad Managers

https://staysaasy.com/management/2025/05/26/AI-management.html

#HackerNews #AI #BadManagers #ManagementTech #Leadership #AIImpact

Would you like to suck less as a manager?

This week's Thinkydoers guest can help.

Ben Arendt is a consultant and author whose new book "How to Suck Less as a Manager: A Practical Guide to Making Your Team Less Miserable Today made my "recommended reading" list before it was even out of beta read.

https://saralobkovich.com/thinkydoers-pod/how-to-suck-less-as-a-manager

#leadership #management #badmanagers #podcast #podcasts

A look at "lazy management", an alternative explanation to the claim that some tech employees drag down companies by raking in big paychecks and working little.

https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-industry-fake-work-problem-bad-managers-bosses-layoffs-jobs-2023-7?op=1

#Tech #Labor #BadManagers

Every single bad manager I’ve ever had did not demonstrate either: “Trust is equal parts character and competence. ... You can look at any leadership failure, and it’s always a failure of one or the other.”

-Stephen M.R. Covey, The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
#BadManagers