Signs of Terrible Management: How to Know It Is Time to Change Something

Signs of effective managers go beyond them being able to supervise their employees. Effective managers also take responsibility, ensure individual and mutual success of the team, department or a business unit. However, some managers do not fit in with such a description. They either abide by the rules of verbal abuse, micromanaging or refusal to follow deadlines or respect their employees’ time. They may know how to write a research paper, or they can be academically smart overall but their managing style may be horrible. Even so, there are cases where signs of terrible managers are quite subtle. Nevertheless, terrible managers are bad for business whether the signs are covert or overt, and bad managers are definitely not welcome to any respectable company.

There is, however bad of a manager you are, no reason for panic because a terrible manager can become a good one. Therefore, we’ve gathered the most important signs which show you have a terrible manager, or that you are a terrible manager, so you can address them and fix them accordingly. But, before we go into the topic in more detail, make sure to first visit look up how to write my research paper, in case you need writing services or insight when it comes to writing research papers.

Sign no1: Poor communication skills

Communication is the key to success, whether you’re an employee or the boss. However, the main problem with communication is the very illusion that a communication has been accomplished at all. The manager-employee communication needs to come from both sides, so if a manager only talks, but never listens, communication has not been established. Usually, terrible managers are preoccupied with what they have to say, so they interrupt their interlocutors or are too busy formulating what they want to speak to listen in the first place.

Solution: Of course, there are ways to let someone know they don’t communicate properly. If your boss has poor communication skills, don’t be afraid to address the issue and discuss it with them. If you’re the terrible manager, however, there are some things you’ll have to do to improve your communication skills, according to Your Thought Partner:

• Share your plans and vision with the team and set the context of the communication so the employees can contribute to the discussion

• Repeat what you have to say multiple times as the employees are more likely to act on it

• Create a dialogue and check for understanding

• Create opportunities for conversation whenever you can

• Make sure you listen to what your employees have to say

• Ask broad, open-minded questions that enable the interlocutor to express themselves and share feedback

• Use calls-to-action and be specific

Sign no2: Poor leadership skills

Good managers are known to walk the walk and talk the talk. They are straightforward, provide specific information and details as well as explanations and directions. A lousy manager, who lacks leadership capabilities, spends their time criticizing employees, neglects to clarify responsibilities or even fails to delegate their own responsibilities. They are never accountable for anything and don’t instill trust or keep promises.

Solution: A good manager needs to inspire their employees, provide them with motivation and feedback on everything they do. There needs to be a connection between a leader and the personnel. In order to turn from being a terrible manager to being a remarkable one, here’s what you need to do:

• Establish a strong relationship with your team

• Be open to new perspectives and recommendations from the team members

• Make sure to direct the responsibilities to each team member

• Make sure your employees are focused on the right things

• Be as transparent as possible

• Reward your team when the job is well done

• Set high expectations, but a reasonable approach when excellence cannot be accomplished

• Focus on trust and credibility

• Deal with conflict openly, don’t avoid it

Sign no3: Inability to adapt to change

Sure, it is hard to deal with change, but, an effective manager should be able to that whenever it is expected or necessary of them. However, bad managers usually become uncomfortable when this gets a little bit tricky. They fall into a crisis, panic and don’t know how to handle the situation. Bad managers also lose all perspective of the magnitude of the problem, get stuck in reactive, instead of proactive mode and don’t think creatively to overcome challenging situations.

Solution: In order to become a manager who can effectively adapt to change you must be able to address the issue with the team members. Each employee should be able to express their opinions and possible solutions without the fear of you not accepting any of their recommendations. An effective manager would also raise their level of expectation and professionalism in challenging situations. Moreover, a good manager needs to be firm, committed and flexible, all the time.

Sign no4: Neglects personal development

A terrible manager is the one who expects their employees to excel in communication, organization and overall work habits. However, that manager doesn’t expect the same things from themselves. Sometimes, they don’t even recognize the lack of their personal development and fail to improve themselves while expecting improvement from the team. Terrible managers also give up easily, don’t build confidence to stand up to a challenge, appear highly defensive in a situation of constructive criticism and fail to learn from their mistakes. Personal development of a manager is as important as the development of their business and their employees.

Solution: To become an effective manager, you need to identify the areas in which you’re weak, and improve them. The fact that you’ re-reading this article, and you’re a manager, shows that you are somewhere deep down willing to improve and develop personal skills. According to The Balance Careers, an efficient manager should be able to identify their weaknesses, aspire to improve them, take pride in their success and cultivate a healthy dissatisfaction with how things are at the moment. There are even courses for personal development of managers that you can take. These courses can be helpful in developing skills for successful management, expanding knowledge, perspective, decision making and giving/receiving feedback.

Author:

John Pearson

John is a serial entrepreneur and writer who is passionate about helping small businesses launch and grow. His work has been featured in Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and Forbes.