MANAGEMENT
No manager is disliked for wrong reasons. Almost all of this type actually deserve to be disliked. The only one reason for disliking that is unjustifiable is when he or she in addition to the disliked traits of their conduct and behaviour are also not helped by nature to have looks of Cary Grant, Rock Hudson or Audrey Hepburn. So the disliked manager has, for his own self, to contend with the deformed visible is in equal competition with the invisible convoluted persona.
The word ‘boss’ by its improper use, normally conjures images of a ruthless blood sucking cousin of count Dracula or even worse the living devil in human form. The view point of disliking a supervisor must beget a fair answer. Should they be disliked? Or do they possess incorrigible quantum of negatives that cannot be altered? This piece is not to encourage the spirit of disliking your boss; it entails their tell-tale signs and gives some measures to handle and keep them in check.
Begin by accepting that a porcupine can be handled but not loved. First and foremost are issues of personality. What kind of individual is the boss? Is he a friendly type? Is he bound by traditions, mostly out dated and unworthy of pursuit? What kind of educational background he possessed? Liberal or orthodox? Is family oriented? Subscribes to lead by letting the team perform while he sits back to watch with delight the good performance or knows the timing well to pull up the sleeves and be with the team, when results are not as per plans. The boss is always a complete bundle of contradictions; good behaviour in the morning, agitation by mid-day and threatening as the day ends. Depending on his own family life, the reactions in relation to time can actually be in reverse order!
No report ever dislikes her manager if they are pushy for performance. The team knows that the boss wishes to get the best out of each individual in the team. Challenges for performances are rarely the reason for disliking your supervisor. It is conduct, behaviour, attitude and lack of professionalism in addressing the non-quantifiable aspects of performance of both himself and the team.
What causes distress is when due to non-performance, the supervisor instead of remaining focused on ‘issues’ that lead to not meeting expectations, gets personal in response, and that too in public eye… and that’s when anger rides out reason…leading to ruptured relationships.
I have seen supervisors on the shop floor who loved even the idea of being a ‘disliked’ manager. Such, again due to personal experience and orientation at either home or office, misbelieve that ‘fear’ is the key to use for better management of human resource. On a close examination of their personality and background it is invariably revealed that they actually suffer from fear. The consideration here is that fear is much stronger than the emotion of love, concern and affection. Again a wrong thought that fear would create bondage. It is untrue. Use of fear as a management tool can at best be in the short term, it can’t last forever.
The supervisor whose perception within the organisation is that he is selfish, conceited and is never available to listen to the team’s woes and problems and is simply focused on working for himself, is most disliked. Reasons of such type are obvious. It is the subtler reasons that are obscure and hard to discover that must be explored to reason out on how the reports must handle the ‘disliked’ boss.
By using the popular guise of speaking your mind the supervisor resorts to reacting with intimidation. The uncontrolled retaliation by the manager is a manifestation of using the high handedness of the power that comes with potential authority. At one extreme you can encounter a supervisor who creates an environment of fear by not making himself available to the team.
Is usually aloof, unfriendly and largely confines to the cubicle or the room. Disliked for not meeting. The opposite of this hermit manager is the outspoken supervisor; one who is always available, is a master politician, is a fixer of problems and a fire fighter at hand. Even these are disliked for without knowledge to themselves, such managers begin to lose their self-respect and integrity. Their intent being impure they get exposed. If the motives of the boss are suspected, he or she can never be liked.
No performing team wishes to be supervised by a manager, whose claim to fame is procrastination. Will never take a decision; for every new initiative, he will dampen the spirit by asking for a ‘paper’ on the subject or even worse a multimedia presentation. Once received he would make sure that dust gathers on such reports, papers, and presentations; and then he may, weeks later, seek feedback… the intention being nothing should happen. Isn’t it worth to dislike such a supervisor? Delay is the antidote of action.
So if you are faced with a boss who is generally disliked how do you deal with this class?
As a starting point, remember to love your enemy and drive him/her nuts. Don’t ever indulge in cheap and indirect signals to indicate your dislike. Instead, talk straight and openly. In doing so, restrain your reactions; you would end up with gained wisdom. Seek detachment from your own emotions of dislike for the supervisors. Abandon any thought that will propel action indicating dislike. Don’t ever stand in judgement of him for every word uttered or move made. It is likely that your mind and mental makeup are beguiling you to think that the supervisor is not what is represented and hence deserves to be disliked.
Look at and evaluate with controlled emotion your supervisor’s positive traits. It is possible due to your own inadequacy you are not able to discover the personality of the supervisor in its entirety. He could be changing gears and reactions to suit emerging trends and situations that may not be in the realm of your knowledge. See as he sees - the picture may look very different.
Join hands with him voluntarily to work towards solving a problem common to the organisation or their department. Close working relationship opens up the hidden areas of each other’s personality which upon discovery can become lifelong binding factors. For this to happen and achieve, show respect and trust to your ‘disliked’ boss.
A concerned and devoted report will make all efforts to find and discover with logical reasoning what exactly are the factors about the manager that evoke from him negative responses - is there any truth about your presumption or is it your imagination that is driving crazy behaviour from your side! Such examination is possible only if you can remain dispassionate and have a very clear intent to develop a liking for your supervisor.
In discovering the personality of your disliked supervisor, never indulge to avoid or exclude him out of your everyday work life. Keep engaged. There should never be a case of nasty or ugly confrontations and no blame games either in presence or behind the back. In serious situations, seek intervention of some other senior person who should be mutually respected. In the handling and management of the disliked boss, remember, never give or receive advice if you wish to repay or be repaid. And god forbid if you are follower of the dictum of Benjamin Disraeli, “my idea of an agreeable person is who agrees with me”, then it is you who needs attention, not the disliked boss.
The writer is a senior banker and freelance columnist
