Managers in disguise are bad enough, throw some micromanaging on top, and you have something akin to Ringling Brothers for business. I can hear the circus music in my head right now. A business owner with this combination of incompetence is truly toxic and unfit to lead anyone, but here we are, day in and day out, required to stomach their sophomoric decision-making process until we find a better opportunity to be successful.
At this point, you’re probably expecting me to offer a solution to this problem and rightly so, it’s what I do right. Here we go, offer them a copy of my leadership book Managers in Disguise-Leaders in Disgust and GET OUT ASAP. How’s that for simplicity? It’s the least you can do for the teammates you’re leaving behind. You deserve better than this. Your ethics, values, self-respect, etc., etc. will slowly erode under this type of culture and oh, don’t let me forget to mention how hard a culture like this is on your family life. Studies show, eighty percent of employees who quit a bad manager, says it was the best thing they ever did and wished they had done it sooner.
There’s no leadership in organizations which are led by Managers in Disguise, there’s just chaos, misery, a high turnover rate and a lawsuit waiting to happen. The boss is the puppet master with that weird laugh, pulling your strings just to be pulling them while turning the motivated into the unmotivated just because they can. There’s no ethics or values present in this atmosphere either, that would require too much work. If you choose to stay in this toxic environment, your ethics, values, self-respect and any other trait bestowed on you by your parents or GOD will be tested. Managers in Disguise aren’t ethical; their philosophy is profits before values. Profits struggle in this environment; values being second to profits are why values in this organization don’t exist.
Do yourself a favor and really investigate your next opportunity before accepting a position. Do your homework and get some information from social media or the Better Business Bureau (BBB.) An interview should be a two-way street, ask to talk to some of their employees of your choosing. A good organization will allow you this request which shows confidence on their part. Ask about the effectiveness of their leadership and succession training programs.
A leader hires employees who can do what they can’t and then gets out of their way and lets them accomplish the goals set forth by him or her. A business owner cannot do the work of two people by themselves effectively; this is why we hire more people. A leader understands, everyone is not incompetent, and he/she is not the only one who can do the work, this is why a leader is constantly teaching and delegating, which creates more leaders and followers.
On the other hand, a micromanager’s ego says, everyone but he/she is incompetent, and he/she is the only one smart enough to perform any task properly. No one measures up to his/her standards, and therefore the micro-managing begins. The only thing we can do for the micro-manager is monetizing what they could have if they would just change their ways. Businesses which are operated by the micro-managing Manager in Disguise have been known to be profitable, but the profits realized are nothing compared to those of a business in the same market with the same opportunities but is led by a leader.
Managers in Disguise refuse to acknowledge the approximate twenty-five to thirty percent of the indirect costs associated with the dysfunction he/she perpetuates and/or is willing to put up with. Lack of leadership fosters a lack of passion, safety, creativity, productivity, respect and the list goes on and on. So for the Manager in Disguise, who by some miracle is reading this, learn to let go and trust your employees to do the work they were hired to do and hire a leader to do what you can’t. The twenty-five to thirty percent Return on Investment (ROI) should be more than enough to justify your letting go. Stepping aside is not stepping down; it’s just the right thing to do in your case. Your business will reward you for it.
Thank you so much Mr. Davis. The photo and roll-out is great.