CRAP MANAGERS and how to survive them

[Margot]

I'm glad you've picked up on this - most men in offices either don't know or enjoy the fact they are being treated more favourably. I have definitely experienced the syndrome where men are treated better. I've included this in the book - Remy the Raunchy Manager where the men employees can do anything - be late, not do their work - and they get away with it. But the women employees get crapped on for everything.

[Margot]

Unfortunately most crap managers do not know how crap they are. They always see themselves as good managers.

[numbers]

qualities that good managers have had - ones that earn your trust & respect, fairness, honesty, decisive, are confident in their ability and that of their team, know when to help out and when to leave you to get on with it, not micromanage within an inch of their life, ability to be a leader as well as a part of the team, patience, being able to communicate clearly, praises team when necessary but not in a fake way. someone who brings out the best in people and who you can learn from.

usually, like you say, the qualities that crap managers think they possess.

[ME Lawrence]

I totally agree with your description of a good manager. Unfortunately there are not many of them around with those qualities. As you say the crappy ones think they are like that, because they are so deluded.

[KalamityKel]

If I were to agree with you numbers and then say I must be a fab manager (based on your description) then does that make me a crap manager?

[numbers]

KalamityKel - yes, er..I mean no. I dunno!! Good question.

[ME Lawrence]

Haha - good question, KalamityKel.You could still be a genuinely good manager - there are some around.

[ME Lawrence]

I was made aware of an interesting new concept in management by a friend of mine ? that of the ?needy? manager. She sent me an article by Oliver Burkeman entitled ?The theory of the hairy arm: the tactical benefits of making deliberate mistakes? which appeared in the Guardian magazine. It talks about managers who need their employees to make mistakes so they can correct them and feel useful or they create unnecessary work for their underlings to feel needed. Burkeman says: ?It's no surprise that this neediness should be felt most acutely among managers whose roles are to coordinate the work of others.?

[Margot]

I have a management joke for anyone who is interested:

A crow was sitting in a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

If anyone else has nay jokes could they send them to me. Thanks

[ME Lawrence]

CRAP MANAGERS is now on sale in Chener Books in Lordship Lane.

Another manager joke from www.funnyshit.com.au:A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy". "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Management Lesson: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

[Margot]

5 signs it's time to quit your job

Rachel Burge for CareerBuilder.co.uk

When was the last time you woke up on a Monday morning feeling excited about the day ahead? Yes, competition for jobs is fierce, but sleep-walk your way through another week and you could harm your chances of ever making a move.

'If you put a frog in a pan of cold water and slowly heat it up, the frog adapts its body temperature but boils alive because it doesn't realise until too late.

'Many people hang on to a job too long out of fear of what they have to lose or of an unknown future,' says David Shindler, performance coach and author of Learning To Leap.

With that in mind, here are five signs it's time to jump.

1. Work stress is affecting your health

Work-related stress is your body's way of telling you that something needs to change.

'It's not just people swamped with massive workloads who experience stress,' says David. 'Profound boredom and lack of stimulation can have a similar effect. If the mere thought of work makes you feel anxious or unhappy, it's a sign to move on.'

As well as harming your health, stress can have a detrimental affect on your family and relationships. Like the frog in hot water, the longer you leave it, the less energy and enthusiasm you will have to make the move. 'If you feel overwhelmed, ask for help,' says David. 'That might mean speaking to your GP, enlisting the help of an enthusiastic friend or hiring a careers coach. Sometimes the first step is the hardest one to take.'

2. Your relationship with co-workers breaks down

Do you regularly fall out with your colleagues or feel constantly irritated by your boss? Familiarity breeds contempt (especially if you've been working with the same people in the same environment for years) but annoyance may be symptomatic of deeper issues.

'As irritating as your co-worker's particular quirks are, your annoyance is more likely to be caused by dissatisfaction with the role. If you were doing a job you absolutely loved, the same personalities would be unlikely to bother you so much,' says David.

Sometimes it's not confrontation that's an issue but a lack of contact. 'If relationships with peers, your boss and others in the workplace begin to fade in quality and frequency of contact, take it as a sign to explore why this is happening, it may indicate you are being isolated and it is time to find other opportunities,' says Peter Fennah, a Chartered Psychologist and accredited executive career coach at careersynergy.com.

3. You're skills aren't being utilised

When you're not learning new skills or developing, you're standing still - and treading water gets harder to do the longer you do it.

If you've asked to take on more responsibility and put yourself forward for more challenging projects and are getting nowhere, you need to be realistic about your prospects.

'When you're passed over for promotion, are no longer invited to key meetings and the best assignments go to someone else, you're probably wasting your time at the company,' says David. 'Without opportunities for growth it's only a matter of time before you begin to stagnate.'

4. Your values no longer align

Companies change - and the organisation you work for now may look very different to the one you joined five years ago.

'Sometimes, it's not an employee that changes but the company around them,' says David. 'Changes can be immediate, in the example of a take-over, or can happen slowly over time.

'Either way, if you no longer feel comfortable with the work ethic, company values or disagree with the direction the organisation is taking, the only solution may be to move on.'

Once you feel you no longer 'fit', your sense of job satisfaction and faith in the company is only likely to be eroded. As Peter says, 'When the gap between what you or your boss espouses as core values and their enacted behaviour widens, it can result in a loss of trust.'

5. Your dream job is calling you

Sometimes there's nothing wrong with your current work as such, it just can't compare with your dream job.

'If there's something you've always wanted to do and its pull is becoming greater than staying where you are, it can be a sign you need to quit,' says David. 'If you're not following your heart, you will never develop your true potential.

'Weigh up the pros and cons and do your research - only then can you decide whether to take the leap. After all, if you don't try, you will never know.'

[ME Lawrence]

If anyone has any stories about crappy managers, could they send them to me. Anonymously of course. I want to put them on my blog which is on my website on www.margotlawrence.com

Thanks

[KidKruger]

A guy interviewed me a few years ago said he was compelled to give me some feedback - about the fact I'd crossed my legs under the table towards the end of the interview and how that was unprofessional.

That was a really twattish comment I thought

I did work for him, running a team, but I moved-on to better work for a less aggressive senior after only 10 weeks - a godsend call came from previous contacts which was a fantastic opportunity and I snapped it up.

Any longer there and I would have unfortunately torn his head off.

Your life can be made total hell by these untrained and inexperienced managers who somehow slip through the groupthink recruitment process. This guy is a legend - the only way I could calm him down in large meetings was to tell him I love him.

It wouldn't have seemed so fecking surreal for the fact it was in a workplace in the City !

[Margot]

Thanks KidKruger - good story. Unprofessional to uncross your legs? - that's a new low in bullshit management.

[alice]

the sharon stone school of management

[Margot]

Oh yeah hahhaha. It took me a minute to get that. When I first read it, I was thinking 'Is that some contemporary management theory' and then I remembered the film.

[Margot]

?Too many companies believe people are interchangeable. Truly gifted people never are. They have unique talents. Such people cannot be forced into roles they are not suited for, nor should they be. Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do.?

― Warren G. Bennis, Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration

[ladida]

What's the matter with people? If a manager's an a'hole make sure they are confronted in a bog outside of work and nut them. Job done.

[KidKruger]

Yeah sink to the manager's level - good long term tactic, that.

You're going places pal.

[Margot]

Unusual solution ladida. Maybe they should use that in management training!

[KalamityKel]

sounds rather stalkerish and illegal to me... *shudders at thought of looming by any "gents" loo awaiting for opportune moment*

[Margot]

We certainly don't want to encourage anyone to hang around gent's loos!

[Margot]

In 1985, a film company facing financial pressure hired a new president. In an effort to cut costs, the president asked the two leaders of a division, Ed and Alvy, to conduct layoffs. Ed and Alvy resisted?eliminating employees would dilute the company?s value. The president issued an ultimatum: a list of names was due to him at nine o?clock the next morning.

Good managers story - if only there were more of them like that.

When the president received the list, it contained two names: Ed and Alvy.

No layoffs were conducted, and a few months later Steve Jobs bought the division from Lucasfilm and started Pixar with Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith.

Employees were grateful that ?managers would put their own jobs on the line for the good of their teams,? marvels Stanford?s Robert Sutton, noting that even a quarter century later, this ?still drives and inspires people at Pixar.?

Source: ?Givers Take All: The Hidden Dimension of Corporate Culture? by Adam Grant | The McKinsey Quarterly

[JohnL]

But how did the President get his bonus related to one years profits :)

Margot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> In 1985, a film company facing financial pressure

> hired a new president. In an effort to cut costs,

> the president asked the two leaders of a division,

> Ed and Alvy, to conduct layoffs. Ed and Alvy

> resisted?eliminating employees would dilute the

> company?s value. The president issued an

> ultimatum: a list of names was due to him at nine

> o?clock the next morning.

> Good managers story - if only there were more of

> them like that.

>

> When the president received the list, it contained

> two names: Ed and Alvy.

>

> No layoffs were conducted, and a few months later

> Steve Jobs bought the division from Lucasfilm and

> started Pixar with Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith.

>

> Employees were grateful that ?managers would put

> their own jobs on the line for the good of their

> teams,? marvels Stanford?s Robert Sutton, noting

> that even a quarter century later, this ?still

> drives and inspires people at Pixar.?

>

> Source: ?Givers Take All: The Hidden Dimension of

> Corporate Culture? by Adam Grant | The McKinsey

> Quarterly

[Margot]

Maybe he forsook his bonus JohnL!