Toxic Boss: Are Your Employees In the Breakroom Plotting Your Demise?

Are people in the washroom, around the corner, and in the lunchroom calling you a toxic boss?

If so, you will be the last to know, but there are some things you may wish to consider in order to avoid heading in this direction.

A toxic boss isn't just a morale crusher. It is a organizational liability. No, you can't change your basic personality structure, but are things you can do to improve your temperament. The term “toxic boss” is not a diagnosis of any condition, but refers to a supervisor who exhibits certain behaviors that cause employees distress.

These behaviors include berating your employees, creating division among your employees, appearing to be concerned only about getting the job done, and overlooking important needs employees have to feel supported and treated with respect. Some supervisors generate fear among employees with their supervision style, or they act like they care about getting input from employees, but never or seldom incorporate it.

Does this sound familiar to your supervision style? The EAP (do you have one?) can help you examine your supervisory practices and relationship with employees to improve your ability to be more productive while reducing the conflicts between you and your employees.

In the end, both you and your organization will benefit from improved morale, reduced turnover, and many costs associated with being a toxic boss. If you don't have an EAP, a life coach will be an awesome substitute. I will be worth the few sessions you'll need to reorient yourself to approach to your human capital.

Maximizing the Power of the Corrective Interview in Supervision: A Manager Skill for Improving Productivity

What can supervisors do to help ensure that corrective interviews with employees will not become emotional, confrontational, and ineffective? Are their best practices for this skill? You will discover a video here that discusses it quite effectively. The goal is for you to make a corrective interview a learning experience for the employee. In this regard, you attitude

determines the degree of success you will achieve. Never make a corrective interview a gotcha session. It is not a point in time to vent anger or gain satisfaction in clobbering your employee with the notes. Think of a corrective interview as a team meeting.

Your first reaction to this idea of making a supervisory meeting a team-like experience with your employee rather than a break bad session may sound unsatisfying. It this is the case, step back and understand that your employee is a valuable resource or a potentially valuable resource you want to shape. See them as a precious commodity, not an opponent.

Although nothing guarantees a corrective interview without problems, there are things you can do to make problems less likely. Always demonstrate respect for your employee with language and tone, and choose an appropriate meeting place. Focus your discussion on the performance issues, not the personality or character of your employee. Check your emotions to prevent using language designed to elicit guilt or shame that can provoke contentious behavior. Help your employee see correcting his or her performance as a goal you share together. Example: “Susan, how can we work together to get your weekly auditing reports to me on time?” Approaching your employee in this manner keeps the focus on performance, but does not preclude a more firm and assertive intervention later, if needed. Try the 14 Vital Skills Program we placed on its own Web site to help you out and learn this and other skills more effectively.