dark side of management

NaeNae55

Here is an interesting article on the importance of the less pleasant characteristics in a manager.

[url]http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/10/12/dark.side.management/?hpt=C2[/url]


I especially liked this part: "Workers who are very precise and rule-adhering may not make the cut in sales or marketing divisions, but may flourish in accounting or legal departments." From now on, please refer to me as very precise and rule-adhering (VPARA) rather than what you usually call me (ANAL).

Do you agree that the characteristics they mention make for better managers?

Sharon McKnight SPHR

Very interesting article. Thanks for posting it Nae.

My take-away from it is this comment:

"The moderation-in-all-things rule may apply here. At extremely high levels, the characteristics become pathological and can lead to career derailment, Harms said, but can be positive in smaller doses."

Any trait, even traits that most would consider to be positive, can become a problem when carried to the extreme. A manager that is too lenient may be liked by most employees but probably not all of them would consider him/her a good boss. A manager who is too strict may be disliked universally, but some employees still may consider him/her a good boss. Finding the middle ground, especially for a manager who tends toward one extreme or the other, can be difficult but well worth the effort.

I tend to be more rule keeper than breaker and, along with my personality which is not so warm and fuzzy, I generally come across as a party-pooper. (Actually, I gave up throwing parties years ago because mine all turned out like Mary Richards'. Remember her? Her parties were a raving success compared to mine.

Oh, golly, let's get my brain back to this decade.

Sharon

Still Need Coffee

I think it's all about balance - each of us has a "dark side" [insert Star Wars joke here], and what makes us successful is how the whole package plays together. Part of managing others is driving your employees to be the very best they can be - that "pushing" can sometimes be the result of a negative personality trait (think of a teacher making you write lines when you do something wrong---you won't soon forget that lesson), but I see it as beneficial in the long run.

I happen to love my dark side. We get along great, and she's a blast at parties!

Paul in Cannon Beach

I have seen managers operate from the dark side. They tend to be effective in the short term. They produce results. However, over the long haul, you begin to see the effects of their management style in terms of turnover and employee satisfaction.

Having an "edge" as a manager isnt necessarily a bad thing. I am a big Jimmy Stewart fan and his characters often had an "edge". Being a softy or a pushover isn't effective. Worse, needing to be liked is death for a manager. (See Michael Scott)

But ultimately, I feel you reap what you sow. At the end of the day, as I lay in bed, my mind will flood with thoughts of how I treated the people who work with and for me. I think I am only successful if I can achieve our organizational goals without compromising the integrity and respect of the people who I depend on to achieve them.