Destructive Management Symptoms That Keep Workers Down

Joe Weinlick
Posted by in Career Advice


Sometimes, employees don't want to come to work simply because they don't enjoy the job. A lack of enjoyment can come from many things, but when a supervisor displays one or more destructive management symptoms, it becomes a problem for entire teams. Managers must learn to overcome these leadership styles to create a better work environment.

A boss who cannot effectively lead a group of people dampens workplace optimism, creates negativity at the office and reduces productivity. All of these aspects of bad leadership could create higher turnover rates, fewer sales and less profit. Upper level managers, executives and owners need to watch carefully for these destructive management symptoms before they become huge problems for the entire company.

Silo Syndrome

A manager with silo syndrome cannot see beyond his own responsibilities. This person does not know how his decisions impact others, whether those people are on his team or in other departments. In essence, this person works in a silo and cannot see the outside world.

Chronic Change Resistance

When a company does not change with the times, it becomes irrelevant. A manager who resists change to better help his team is the same way. Destructive management symptoms may appear good at first. However, when the company changes and he does not, it becomes a problem.

Antisocial Leadership

An antisocial leader does not have the charisma to encourage his team to work toward a goal or common purpose. Unfortunately, work is a social environment where everyone must learn to get along.

Blind Impact

Similar to silo syndrome, blind impact refers to a manager's unawareness of how his actions and attitude affect others. Destructive management symptoms such as these can erode moral, cause more sick days and bring down an entire team quickly.

Constipated Inspiration

Similar to antisocial leadership, constipated inspiration leads to a manager's inability to inspire his team to reach a goal. This person has a hard time learning how to lead.

Profit Myopia

All of these leadership maladies create strained profits. However, managers with profit myopia think money is the only thing. When it comes to employees, managers must take care of the team first, and then profits flow from the caring attitude. Profit is not the only measure of success.

Luckily, there is help for business leaders who have any of these six destructive management symptoms. Executives, supervisors and managers just have to set aside any of these styles and replace them with more positive attributes. The first thing leaders must do is recognize their own styles. Without awareness, no one can change. The manager can then move on to determine his team's overall purpose. After that, he can create a clear idea of how to move the team forward toward its goals.

Managers can create workplace optimism thanks to one-on-one meetings with team members to determine the needs of each person. Networking within the company helps leaders build relationships, creates empathy among the team and has a positive outlook as everyone strives to attain a goal.

Some managers may have trouble trying to unlearn certain types of destructive management symptoms, and that's okay. It just means not everyone is cut out to be an effective business leader.


Photo courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Comment

Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.

Jobs to Watch