Bad bosses and how not to be one: all workplaces would run smoothly if all bosses learned to live by the Golden Rule of Management: manage as you would like to be managed.

• Author: Abbasi, Sami M.
• Position: Management Wise

There is worldwide evidence that a nation's management talent is one of the most important factors in the growth and survival of its economy and society. Also, it is equally evident that people in managerial positions face a variety of challenges, but perhaps the most difficult is the smooth and effective management of knowledge workers. As we enter the information age in the workplace, many employees add value simply because of what they know. They are usually referred to as knowledge workers, and how these employees are managed is seen as a major factor in determining which firm will be successful in the future. For example, the symbols of the old world were factories, land, gold, and oil. The Internet, computers, and information are the symbols of the current age. As Bill Gates said, "the only factory asset we have is human imagination."

In his 1990 book Powershift, Alvin Toffler argued that in a highly turbulent economic and social environment, there will be a generalized erosion of power and authority. At the present time, in all types of organizations, power is shifting not just at the top management level but at lower levels as well. For example, knowledge workers believe they have the right to work autonomously. According to M.A. Von Glinow's 1988 book The New Professional, knowledge workers tend to identify more with their profession than they do with any organization. Consequently, the realities of today's workforce contradict traditional management views and assumptions. In their 2002 book Powerful Leadership, Eric G. Stephan and R. Wayne Pace, maintain that the traditional rigid, authoritarian, drill-sergeant style of management will not foster a good working climate for knowledge workers and for the different components of the diverse workforce.

Most authoritarian-type bosses have never received formal education or training in the art of today's managing style. They have stumbled their way into positions of authority and imitated the authority figures they have encountered and observed in their careers. Ordinarily, these bosses are handpicked for their loyalty at the expense of competence. For some of these bosses, dealing with the changes in the work environment is tortuous and results in frustration, pessimism, and bitterness toward their organization. It is no wonder that a certain number of difficult bosses are consistently and energetically engaged in counterproductive managerial behavior such as deviance, incivility, or antisocial behavior. Research suggests that, when managerial civility is absent, work relations are strained. Rude treatment can make workers unhappy, and this can lead to cynicism, aggressive behavior, higher turnovers, lower productivity, and lost customers--and it can negatively affect a company's bottom line.

It is a widespread observation that, when difficult bosses feel pressed or threatened by change, they often demonstrate just how human they are by striking out and taking aim at subordinates. In fact, for many difficult bosses, change will show the emergence of a siege mentality.

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