Good Managers vs Bad Managers

The hardest thing I had to learn about managing people was that there is no one who will do things exactly like me.  I had to learn that the end result was what counted, as long as it was right, to my standards and timely.  When delegating work, this is a really hard thing to learn.

There are so many managers who are "screamers".  Many of them get frustrated because their subordinates do things in their own way to get to the desired results.  The screamers have fragile egos and believe that no one can do work as well as they. So when those who work for them don't handle things in exactly the way the manager would (even if they end up in the same place) they get yelled at.  Bad manager.

From working at agencies, I knew both good and bad managers.  But when I became a recruiter, I relearned this lesson again early on. I was quickly successful and was called by one of the best known advertising recruiters. She offered me a job as president of her firm.

As part of my due diligence, I visited her office.  The first thing that happened is that she had her four or five employees actually lined up and, literally, standing at attention as I entered her office.  They were standing in line to introduce themselves and shake my hand. It was a scene from a B movie; the formality of it was really a turn-off.  Even her office layout was difficult for me.  All her recruiters worked in one room (not uncommon, although I am not a believer in open plan seating) with her desk raised a couple of steps above her people so she could overlook (looking down would be a better description) her employees who sat below her. She told me that the positioning of her desk allowed her to insure that her recruiters were constantly making calls and she could listen to and correct what her recruiters were saying.   

She made it clear that doing this would be an essential part of my job. I knew that that would be impossible for me and turned the job down.  Not surprisingly, I subsequently learned that the turnover there was high.

Good managers know that everyone is different, that everyone approaches problems differently and that no two people are alike; what is important is the result, not the process of getting there.  Bad manages get angry at everyone who works for them because they do not do their jobs or say what they have to say in the same way that the manager does.

Good managers know that there are many ways to achieve good results.  They encourage their people to achieve results in their own way.  Bad manages try to make everyone work like they do, which is impossible.

Good managers allow their people to fail.  That’s right.  Good manages encourage innovation.  If someone has an idea, as long as failing doesn’t cost business, employees should be allowed to try.  And if they fail, they will learn from their errors.  Bad managers rarely innovate; more often than not, they perpetuate their own mistakes.

Good managers correct employees when they have made a mistake.  Bad managers merely scream and often curse.

Good managers rarely raise their voices and never belittle their employees.  Bad managers tend to constantly putting their people down, often in front of others.

Good managers know that they cannot be perfect all the time.  Perfection, by its very definition, can only happen once.  Good managers have high standards and always try to achieve or exceed those standards.  Bad managers have intolerance for people who do not do it their way and who are not perfect in every endeavor.

Good managers are friendly and interested in their subordinates, even if they are not friends.  Bad managers are disinterested and rarely friendly.

Good managers push their subordinates, allow them to get exposure to management.  Bad managers often take credit for work others have done and keep their people away from management.

Good managers go to bat for their employees in terms of raises and promotions.  They give accurate and actionable performance reviews, even if those reviews are not required by management.

Employees who work for good managers always know what is expected of them and how they are doing.  Bad managers give little feedback and often surprise subordinates with negative appraisals.

People who work for good managers are likely to work harder, be more productive and actually remain in their jobs longer.

Life is too short to work for bad managers.