Any tips for workplace pyromaniacs?
Some bosses get addicted to starting fires for their employees to put out, as Patricia B. Gray discusses in “Are you a workplace pyro?” Has the pressure of running your business ever turned you into one of these managers? Have you since found a way to break the habit of creating emergencies? Share the strategies that helped you return to focusing on the most important aspects of your company.
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DiggI see these symptoms everyday as my boss is a pyromaniac. With no real management skills (does being a friend of her boss count as a qualification?), she wastes time and resources and fails to understand that problem-solving is a priority in the company. The shotgun approach, whereby the same job is assigned to several staff, is still the norm. What’s worse is that at the end, very little of the actual work gets used. In my case, there are only two solutions to the problem: my boss commits a major faux pas and gets fired, or my boss reaches retirement age. I sure envy companies in the US where such issues and problems can be addressed and dealt with. Sigh…
I love how someone will take something old, give it a new name and take ownership. This is basically, the definition of a Theory X manager, with technology thrown in for good measure.
I declare that these people should not be called pyromaniacs but should be called cyber X managers….
Now interview me so I can get my consulting firm some free press.
I have to say, this is an interesting article, one to spawn much discussion I hope. I agree with Juat, having senior members of the team who understand the overall picture of the company and its goals, can ease the stress level. The problem with many entrepreneurs is that building that senior team may never happen, and creates an environment of mis(dis)trust from the entrepreneur towards their employees, creating a vicious cycle that ends in ultimate destruction for everyone.
Yadgyu has some good information. Today as bosses it is all about the bottom line and forget the employee. As long as they get their quarterly bonus, who cares that the department has a 75% turnover rate. They are always replacable. My department has gone through six people due to a boss who believes every incident is a emergency. His excuse is they just couldn’t hold on for the long run and they were worthless as employees. That makes for a perfect work environment, HAHA!
Entreprenuers worry for their bottomline and find it hard to trust their team to care as much as they do. Sharing burdens with at least two good senior team members helps to ease the day to day stress that blows up landmines around the office
Creating emergencies gets people focused. It may be incovenient to the employees, but without these “emergencies”, employees become complacent and lazy. Sometimes the productivity bar has to be raised with hard and fast deadlines. Giving loose orders encourages a culture of passivity and ignorance to the competition. If workers are unable to find a way to be motivated, it is uo to the managers to create a critical situation to test their employees’ resolve.
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OMG this article is so my boss. We don’t get along at all and I am paying
the price for it. Words can;t describe how my boss manages my office… it’s
horrible. Your article is spot on and I am keeping it for my records.
thank you