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Micromanagers as a Special Type of Corporate Psychopath
The older I get, the more aware I become of a salient fact: considerable
proportion of managers, especially female managers, are
borderline personalities. The most common problem seems to be micromanagement. Micromanagement is a unique blend of bulling, manipulation and
over-control.
Paranoid and incompetent micromanagers are one of the most the most toxic type of
corporate psychopaths.
As insightful page The
toxic manager in the office while depicting more general category of
psychopaths catches the main features quite well:
"We've all encountered
them. Moody, aggressive, unpredictable, incompetent, always blaming other people.
A compulsive liar with a Jekyll and Hyde nature, the individual, male or female,
is always charming and plausible when management are around."
Paranoid and incompetent micromanagers (PIMM) are the type of
micromanagers who are quite helpful in preventing staff doing their jobs and
destroying well-being of those two have a misfortune to report to those beasts. Unpredictable
outbursts of hostility, conflicting demands, inconsistent orders, random
decision-making, inability to plan strategically, inability and unwillingness to
communicate and co-operate, obstructive ... the list goes on.
There is only one book that is somewhat useful in understanding
micromanagers. This is Chambers book. It is far from being perfect and the
author is sitting between two benches. But is does contain some useful
information, which is quite rare in self-help books of this genre.
After some conversations with paranoid incompetent micromanager (PIMM), you feel like
you left the ring after boxing match facing opponent twice heavier then you and not playing by
the rules. Everything will be your fault. You have a "negative attitude", you're
a "poor performer", you're "not up to the job", and so on. If you get as far as
alerting personnel or human resources management, it'll be a "personality clash".
In truth, this is a
projection
of the bully's own negative attitude, poor performance, and incompetence.
In Brutal Bosses and Their Prey (1996, Riverhead Books), Harvey Hornstein
identifies six variations on Simon Legree:
- Conquerors (classic schoolyard bullies) -- They’re concerned with
power. Bludgeon you with words. Make you feel small. Treat you like trash. Expect
you to genuflect or, at the very least, kiss their rings.
- Performers (constantly threatened bullies) -- They attack anyone
who seems to be competitive. They belittle, bother, and bewilder. This type
of boss puts negative comments in your personnel file without telling you.
- Manipulators (take-credit-for-your-ideas bullies) -- They are more
concerned about how they are perceived than how they are received. They smear
you. Take credit for your ideas. Blame their failures on you.
- Dehumanizers (people-are-numbers bullies) -- They abuse you and never
excuse you. They treat you like a robot because it’s easier to abuse a thing
than a person.
- Blamers (you-deserved-it bullies) -- They are righteous about wrongness.
When they reprimand you, they take comfort in the fiction that you deserved
what happened to you -- a fiction that they are quite clever at composing.
- Rationalizers (abuse-for-a-greater-cause bullies) They vilify you
supposedly for your own good. Or for the company’s. They employ self-justifying
terms to excuse themselves and take refuge in believing that "It needed to be
done. Someone had to do it. The company comes first, you know."
In Brutal Bosses and Their Prey (1996, Riverhead Books), Harvey Hornstein
identifies six variations on Simon Legree:
- Conquerors (classic schoolyard bullies) -- They’re concerned with
power. Bludgeon you with words. Make you feel small. Treat you like trash. Expect
you to genuflect or, at the very least, kiss their rings.
- Performers (constantly threatened bullies) -- They attack anyone
who seems to be competitive. They belittle, bother, and bewilder. This type
of boss puts negative comments in your personnel file without telling you.
- Manipulators (take-credit-for-your-ideas bullies) -- They are more
concerned about how they are perceived than how they are received. They smear
you. Take credit for your ideas. Blame their failures on you.
- Dehumanizers (people-are-numbers bullies) -- They abuse you and never
excuse you. They treat you like a robot because it’s easier to abuse a thing
than a person.
- Blamers (you-deserved-it bullies) -- They are righteous about wrongness.
When they reprimand you, they take comfort in the fiction that you deserved
what happened to you -- a fiction that they are quite clever at composing.
- Rationalizers (abuse-for-a-greater-cause bullies) They vilify you
supposedly for your own good. Or for the company’s. They employ self-justifying
terms to excuse themselves and take refuge in believing that "It needed to be
done. Someone had to do it. The company comes first, you know."
Harry E. Chambers
- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (November 9, 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1576752968
- ISBN-13: 978-1576752968
- Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
- Table
of Contents
1. The Scope of Micromanagement
2. Team "Me"-putting the "I" in Micro
3. The Supreme Commander of Time
4. The Immortalization of Frank Sinatra-"My Way"
5. Approval Requirements
6. Dysfunctional Monitoring and Reporting
7. The Response to Being Micromanaged
8. Effective Strategies for EEs
9. Neutralizing Your Own Micromanagement Behaviors
10. Negotiating Operating Agreements
11. When You Manage a Micromanager
12. In Conclusion
EVERY EMPLOYED PERSON NEEDS THIS BOOK, January 12, 2005
Having spent twenty-three years in senior management
positions, I know that every employed person needs this
book. Those who micromanage others will learn how damaging
their supervisory straightjacket is to morale and productivity.
Those who report to micromanagers will learn tactful
strategies for changing their employer's habits and
expectations.
Harry Chambers writes with clarity and humor. Frequently,
he illustrates his points with case studies, survey
reports and real-life incidents.
During my career, I endured several micromanagers, with
some of them bordering on micromania. Too bad this book
wasn't available then. I would have been better equipped
to respond to their annoying, intrusive styles.
I recommend My Way or The Highway enthusiastically.
As the subtitle promises, this book serves as The Micromanagement
Survival Guide.
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by
Brian Johnson,
Paul Wilkinson
- Paperback: 127 pages
- Publisher: Van Haren Publishing (April 1, 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9077212213
- ISBN-13: 978-9077212219
- Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 4.5 x 9.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 7.20 ounces
BOOKs: How to Manage Your Boss: Developing the Perfect Working Relationship by
Ros Jay, Prentice Hall, 12.99, ISBN 0273659316
How to Work for an Idiot: Survive and Thrive Without Killing Your Boss by John
Hoover, Career Press, 7.36, ISBN 1564147045
- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (September 1, 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0805843329
- ISBN-13: 978-0805843323
- Paperback: 216 pages
- Publisher: Sage Publications (October 15, 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0803972369
- ISBN-13: 978-0803972360
- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: FT Press; 1st edition (November
12, 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0131409956
- ISBN-13: 978-0131409958
"Toxic
Managers" good for your health, December 14, 2003
Beginning with its title, a real "grabber," Dr. Roy Lubit's new book "Coping
with Toxic Managers, ..." holds your interest as it exhaustively and brilliantly
organizes, classifies, describes and analyzes the entire spectrum of toxic behaviors
to be found in the workplace. Any workplace. The book deals comprehensively
with toxic behaviors from peers and subordinates as well as superiors. I think
it will be recognized and appreciated as an invaluable contribution to the literature.
The references alone are worth the price.
If that were all Dr. Lubit did that would be enough to distinguish this book,
but he also gives detailed prescriptions for dealing with every type of behavior
discussed in the book. These are often presented in the context of case studies
and examples that make fascinating and satisfying narratives in themselves and
allow Dr. Lubit's insights to really sink in.
Dr. Lubit, an experienced and recognized forensic psychiatrist and holder
of an MD and a Ph.D. from Harvard, does an outstanding job of marshalling an
array of toxic behaviors and codifying it in a manner that is understandable
enough to be mastered by a college student yet profound enough and broad enough
to be of great value to other professionals and to his peers. This book is scientific
yet should prove of practical value to anyone who needs to manage, understand
or otherwise deal with any business organization or, indeed, almost any human
group in modern America. It does so in terms that anyone can understand and
put to use. "Coping with Toxic Managers . . ." is one of those truly rare books
which combines accessibility with depth, and I recommend it highly. Ronald Blum,
Ph.D.
Copyright © 1996-2008 by Dr. Nikolai Bezroukov.
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Last modified:
May 05, 2008