The primary stimulus for writing on the theme of this book was the experiences shared by people who had interacted with me and my own personal observations. The focus of this book is bosses at workplaces, though one could have bosses in other domains as well, including in one’s own family! However, one can’t base the book on information shared or observed privately. So I undertook what I proudly prefer to call ‘systematic inquiry’.

My review of writings on leaders in organizations across the world indicated the general tendency of searching and projecting ‘ideal types’. The pilot study undertaken by me substantiated my assumption that true learning can take place not by looking at the right traits, but by analysing the wrong ones. Looking at the wrong and its negative consequences is more meaningful and convincing than going after the right and searching for its positive results.

More often than not, it is neither a pleasant nor a welcome experience to tell a colleague that he is wrong. Although he might be more receptive if the consequences similar wrongs had for him or other colleagues or the organization were to be pointed out. One could learn lessons from such examples. Thus the focus in the book is on instances where the boss was wrong. I have presented in this book 50 different dimensions of bad leadership and their ramifications for people and organizations. There is also an attempt to suggest certain precautions and prescriptions for individuals (in their roles both as team members and as bosses) and some precepts for the organizations concerned. These can be applied to entities of any type, size, or genre: including companies, government organizations, educational, charitable and religious institutions, family businesses, voluntary associations, and clubs.

The bosses you come across in this book might remind you of your own bosses, or even yourself. This book will put you on your way to becoming a successful leader. Happy reading!

 CONTENTS

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction xiii

Prologue: Before you begin xvii

1. You are what your boss is 1
2. The nasty bosses 5
3. The ‘runaway’ boss 11
4. Mr Boss, you are petty! 15
5. When the boss is a ‘snooperviser’ 19
6. The time bandits 26
7. The towering bosses 30
8. Working with ‘hyper-intelligent’ bosses 35
9. The fault-finders 39
10. Mr Boss, are you out of your mind?! 43
11. Who will bell the boss? 49
12. You do the work; boss takes the credit 53
13. Unethical bosses 58
14. The coterie rules; not the boss 65
15. The chatterbox 68
16. The please-all boss 73
17. Where there is a will, there is a load! 77
18. Why doesn’t the boss smile? 82
19. Predecessor bashing: What foolish bosses do! 86
20. Coping with a young boss 90
21. Coping with an old boss 94
22. The braggarts 100
23. Mr Boss! Don’t always look up. Look down too! 105
24. The archetypical bosses 110
25. The jealous boss 115
26. When bosses are good slaughterers 119
27. The boss: The profane self and the sacred self 124
28. The boss by default 128
29. The pathetic apathetic boss! 132
30. When the boss becomes a CEO: The Chief Ego Officer 138
31. The boss and your health 146
32. Bossing after bossing hours 150
33. Appraisal: The boss’s ammunition and the subordinate’s nightmare 154

34. Bosses and the Bathsheba syndrome 162
35. Boss speaks in Latin; we hear Greek 168
36. The puppet has a long tenure 176
37. Bosses and the image-makers 180
38. Which animal are you and your boss? 184
39. The inscrutable boss! You are being watched 189
40. How creative are you and your boss? 194
41. Boss leaves; bomb explodes 199
42. The Messiah returns 204
43. The bosses and the expats 209
44. The best leave; the worst stay 217
45. Boss is from Mars; you are from Venus 221
46. Is the family the shock absorber or the shock trigger? 227
47. Don’t count just the successes; count the tears too 231
48. The corporate bureaucratic bosses and emotional intelligence 235
49. Static rules and rocky bosses 243
50. Ineffective bosses create ineffective organizations 247

Epilogue: Thank your boss for making you a good leader 254

Score Analysis 255

Notes 260