Do bad bosses know they are bad?

Elissa Hecker started this conversation by saying, yes. Some bad bosses do know and they don’t care. And on the other side, there are bad bosses who don’t realize they are bad. They could be insecure, overcompensating, or want to be everyone’s friend.

 

Pascal Derrien thinks that some bad bosses are in denial. They may have become a boss as social posturing, for status reasons, and don’t really care if they are a good boss or not. Pascal says people like that aren’t managers, they are damagers.

 

He can also see the other side where a bad boss has good intent but doesn’t have the experience, training or baseline to be a good boss.

 

James Lee believes that for someone to be a really bad boss they have to not care that they are bad. He also brought in the reality that drugs and alcohol can be a major problem with bad bosses (Side note – I worked in the banking industry in the nineties and cocktail lunches were a real thing for “leaders.”)

 

I followed up with the question about what a “bad boss” actually looks like. We even talked about whether the “Covid break” has made some bosses worse because they feel like they are losing control.

 

At about the mid-point of the conversation we had a difference of opinion, some panelists thought if you are a bad person at work, you are likely a bad person at home and vice versa. Others disagreed and said that people can have from different work personalities.

 

Jim wondered if we really need as much middle management as most organizations have now.

 

This conversation could have gone a lot of different directions and we touched on a lot of things.

 

What do you think, do bad bosses know they are bad or are they clueless?

 

Connect with the panelists:

James Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jleeadvisor/

He is a financial futurist at StratFI. He has 30 years’ experience in the financial word and is the author of the book, Foresight Investing:  A Complete Guide to Finding Your Next Great Trade 

 

Elissa D. Hecker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissa-d-hecker-48467711/

She is the Go-To General Counsel, Collaborative Partner, and Creative Problem Solver, for businesses and the Entertainment and Arts industries

 

Pascal Derrien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pascalderrien/

CEO of the nonprofit Migraine Ireland and an avid athlete

 

Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/

AKA Mental MacGyver. My doctorate is in business psychology with a concentration in high performance. I provide customized, confidential, high-performance support and coaching to executives, founders, celebrities and athletes.

 

Want a summary of Quick Hits in your in-box every week? Let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/

 

#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you would like to join a conversation or have a topic you would like to hear discussed, please message me. https://www.MentalMacGyver.com