It’s bad enough that so many of us deal with bad bosses. But what complicates matters is that there are at least two kinds of bad bosses: those who are too critical and those who are not critical enough.
Surviving either takes skill.
“Being overly critical or too easy are equally bad,” said Patrick Casale, managing partner at the Multicare Group United States Division in Las Vegas. “In either case, those who work for you tend to either take advantage or just lose interest in just how important this job really is.”
Finley Cotrone, faculty-in-residence director of enrollment management at UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, said, “I love this topic, because they’re everywhere.” The strategies for working under either type of boss “depend where in the ladder the person needing the strategies sits.
“The underlying issue with manager problems is in the promotion,” she said. “We tend to promote people into management positions because they’re good at the job and have shown themselves capable. Then we don’t offer them enough training, guidance and feedback to help them become great.”
In some ways, working for a boss who isn’t critical enough is easier because the employee can always simply ask for needed constructive criticism. Cotrone calls this type of style commonplace among new managers. “They want to be friends with everyone rather than lead or manage them. Employees like working for this person, until it becomes detrimental to how the department runs.”
In Cotrone’s experience, this behavior “is generally addressed by the boss’ supervisor, often resulting in the pendulum swinging too far and the boss becoming overly critical until he finds a balance. Regular coaching and feedback from peers and bosses helps managers improve their leadership, but it happens too rarely.”
According to Michele Melnick, marketing director at Windermere Prestige Properties in Henderson: “Having a boss who is too nice could hinder an individual’s potential. Constructive criticism is necessary for all of us to become better in our careers, including our bosses. If a boss is uncomfortable or unskilled in giving constructive criticism, then we all get to drinking our own Kool-Aid and stay mediocre at best.”
Bosses who aren’t critical enough tend to be approachable but hesitant to give feedback, said Chris Wilcox, tax partner at Eide Bailly in Las Vegas. “Take responsibility upon yourself (as the employee) and be proactive in getting feedback. You’ve got to have that feedback to continue to grow.”
This type of manager also “likely has confidence that you’ll be able to figure it out,” Wilcox said. “You need to ask for direction if you need it. Don’t let his or her confidence in you or lack of attention to you get you into trouble in your career.”
Against Nitpicking
The boss who is overly critical — who appears at times to almost be spoiling for a fight — is the tougher challenge.
“This behavior likely comes from a few places,” Cotrone said. “The boss who needs to be seen as always right or the smartest in the room; the boss who wants to say he took part in this project by nitpicking; the control freak who needs to OK every step rather than the finished product — this boss is likely not a good developer of people, and doesn’t know how to build trust with employees.”
The employee can own the relationship, Cotrone said, by keeping the boss constantly in the loop of what’s happening before it happens. “So instead of awaiting criticism, the employee might go to the boss for his expertise before completion of whatever it is.”
Being overly critical can create employees “who don’t have your back and definitely won’t go the extra mile,” Melnick said. “It’s clock in, clock out.”
The key to improvement is “knowing how much is too much,” he said. “Good bosses can read people, body language, and know when to lay off the critiques. They know when to start delivering the much-needed compliments and praise. Without this, you have employees who just work for a paycheck and try to stay off the boss’ radar as much as possible.”
Scott Seegmiller, chief financial officer of WestCorp Management Group in Las Vegas, suggests discussing with overly critical managers their approach.
“Talk to them about what they are doing to the morale of the employees,” he said. “No one will do anything because they do not want to get criticized.”
Seegmiller said he has seen firsthand the corrosive effects of too much criticism.
“A client who was overly critical of one of my employees caused (the employee) to quit, and then I had to find a replacement. I was unwilling to give him another good employee.”
Wilcox has found that this type of boss “tends to discourage creativity. People lose their confidence and second-guess themselves and at some point simply stop trying. They start to think, ‘It doesn’t matter what I do, it’s not going to be right or good enough.’ ”
His solution: Sometimes the fight simply isn’t worth it.
“Life is short, and there are a lot of opportunities,” Wilcox said. “In this situation, it may be better to look for a different position. There are good bosses out there with whom you may be a better fit to bring you along and help you grow.”
Information and Comfort
As with so many workplace issues, the solution ultimately ends up being improved communication.
“I think one of the biggest factors when bosses are overly critical is the amount of information provided to their employees,” said Gordon Miles, president and chief operating officer at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties. “The more information you have, the more comfortable you feel.”
Typically, when a boss is being too critical, “it is because you have a lack of information, or are in fact doing a bad job,” said Miles, who manages a staff of 60 and more than 1,000 real estate agents in Nevada. “I have usually found it stems from lack of information. Managers and employers need to communicate with their team and ask them what they prefer in terms of information and what their needs are.”
Miles said there are two ways to deal with overly critical bosses.
“There were employees who will flourish in this type of atmosphere, especially people who are go-getters on their own and prefer that type of working environment. And then there are employees who actually need a more hands-on working environment. They need continuous leadership and affirmation to be productive. But if you communicate with people and ask them their thoughts, you will determine the best way to support and engage them.”
Managers who are too critical are worse than their opposites, Miles said, “because you are setting a bad working environment. A bad working environment will create bad results and stymie the individuals, both of which result in higher turnover and lower production.”
Miles recounted having worked for someone who was overly critical and controlling.
“It had the same effect on me,” he said. “It hindered my creativity and ability to come up with solutions to improve the business. I couldn’t be as successful as I wanted to be because that individual couldn’t provide an environment to allow it to happen.”
Everything changed, he said, when he started working for Berkshire Hathaway, “because I was open to different ways of doing things. And now the employees who are responsible for certain tasks are usually the ones who know the most about that task and what would be the most efficient way to do it. We are currently operating on approximately 30 percent of the staff we had five years ago, with higher production and lower turnover.”
As with Goldilocks, it’s the middle course that is usually just right. When forced to deal with either extreme, however, employee-to-boss communication can usually make the situation better.