BootsnAll Travel Community

Since returning to Canada, I have had so many BAD managers I am starting to wonder if there is such thing as a good one. Let's review:

1. Didn't believe it was her job to deligate tasking or provide direction for a jobshare position. Sat in her office all day in closed door gossip sessions and then would go on a rampage of micromanagement. We would hear nothing from her until then, when she would tell you to do a list of things that you did while she was in the office, chatting.

2. Ineffective micromanager who expected each of us to do the work of 3 people. Insisted that better time management would solve the problems and that we were unwilling to play. With no documentation in place, same manager would not provide training for proprietary software, but expect the staff to understand all the ins and outs of it. Her boss's tactics for motivating his staff involved picking one person and publicly shaming that person.

3. Manager who yells at staff and talks to them as though they are stupid children. Same manager forgets what she has given for instructions, is questionably appropriate regarding physical space and touching, appears to believe that the rules apply to others (including GAAP) and frequently engages in illegal or unethical business practices.

Seriously, are there any good ones out there? Any? At all?

hi skyannie! glad to see you've resurfaced a bit.

i love my boss. he's never gotten upset, has always been calm, lets me take 2 vacations within a month of each other, buys the whole lab lunch, lets me go to conferences and help write publications, lets me go with my own ideas.. i can't complain.

my immediate supervisor though, is a pain. he's pulled me aside 3 times, accusing me of not respecting him, then demanding that i respect him.. i had to explain to him that just because i have a different perspective, doesn't mean that i don't respect him. he also insists on needing to 'know everything you do before you run it, and tell me the results immediately after. i'm trying my best to not micromanage, but i need to know what you're doing before you do them!' fok dat! he's tolerable on a personal level, but on a managerial level? forget it!!

In the past, I have had excellent luck with my managers. One past manager I see all the time at the gym, and we hang out and have fun. She was great at delegating, and really cared about my career development as well. She still does, and has been very helpful in more recent job searches. When she left, my colleague with whom I had been good friends became my boss. He was pretty good, too. We were more like a team. We still talk and he often asks my opinion on current projects, etc. I miss them both.

My immediate past manager was the worst I've ever had. She embodies all the 3 items you listed, Anne. So bad that I was close to a nervous breakdown. Totally crazytown.

My current boss is really nice, but she is leaving next week. Boo.

I've had two really superlative managers, a couple of pretty good ones, and more bad ones than I can count. I've been a manager, too, and I tried to be a good one. I've got to tell you, it's a thankless job. The people above you rarely care about your subordinates' sitution since it doesn't affect them, and the people you are working hard to protect have no idea of the ass kicking you take to try and make their lives bearable.

La