What You Should Know About Toxic Managers

Toxic management is a managerial style that destroys an employee's dignity, self-confidence, or efficacy through remonstrances, daily spikes, or unsuitable speeches. Their characteristics result in damaging, demeaning, and devaluing working conditions, which can have severe psychological and physical effects on employees.

 

How to spot a toxic manager

The following are the most prevalent types of toxic managers you may experience at your workplace.

 

1. Cold manager

The cold manager employs all available means to attain their objectives, and they have no emotional intelligence or empathy. Sentiments and emotions rule their personal life, whilst their professional life is ruled by rationality. 

This leads to an overflow of labour, which burns out and exhausts employees. Moreover, they do not prioritise innovation management, which undermines workplace creativity. Furthermore, they seem unconcerned with the employees' emotional and physical well-being.

 

2. Snake manager

A snake manager is consumed by money and power, and they manipulate the world to fulfil their wants. They are a manipulator who sets unreasonable goals due to a lack of humility.

 

3. Glory seeker manager

The glory seeker manager seeks attention and glory at all costs, regardless of whether or not they have participated. They would do anything to earn fame, including grabbing all the honours and flaunting themselves. Employee initiatives have no place in this managerial style; under a holacracy, they will still take all of the credit. A glory-seeking manager celebrates their colleagues' success while blaming them when they fail.

 

4. Puppeteer manager

This manager is a control freak. He never admits to making mistakes. He is everywhere and does not trust his employees.

 

5. Monarch manager

Workplace diversity is frequent in many firms and fosters new ideas and viewpoints. However, a monarch manager's ideas dominate the entire organisation, resulting in a tyranny that leaves little opportunity for collective intellect. In addition, they employ direct or indirect threats to attain their goals.

 

6. The incompetent manager

These managers are concerned about staff development but are not always available to provide leadership, coaching, or support. Employees in remote management are accustomed to absentee supervisors, but they will be difficult to reach if questions or feedback need to be handled.

When dealing with an absentee manager, you must adjust to their schedule and maintain good communication. As they do not respond to emails, keep to one issue and utilise bullet points that are easy to read. Rather than sending them an email, organise a 15-minute video conference with them.

 

7. The micromanager

A micromanager is obsessed with meticulously monitoring every aspect of their employees' jobs and exerts control even in the digital age. A micromanager acts this way because they believe their staff are not accountable and cannot achieve the appropriate quality or amount of work. On the other hand, employees feel they are not empowered or trusted enough to achieve their best.

Micromanagers irritate those who operate autonomously. To deal with a micromanager, begin by gradually building their trust by providing frequent updates and ensuring you deliver on your promises. As a result, they will come to trust you and lessen their hold with time.

 

8. Rigid managers

Rigid supervisors insist on doing things their way. They are obsessive, which means they are afraid of being incorrect, and their universe revolves around 'should' and 'should have.' They run organisations through their strict hierarchies and attempt to persuade their way into the emancipated firm. 

Most of the time, they believe their autonomy is under attack, therefore they push back as a protection strategy. Unfortunately, they are infringing on the rights of others by doing so. Rigid managers believe that their way is the best, and they do not listen to others

 

9. Aggressive managers

An aggressive manager sees the world as a dog-eat-dog society where everyone is out to get you. You are either the prey or the predator in their eyes. They are not only egotistical but also lack empathy, do not consider the well-being of others, and do not practise agile project management. An aggressive manager inhibits creativity in the workplace, making frugal innovation difficult to thrive. 

An extreme variant of a narcissistic manager is a bully who derives pleasure from strong-arming the staff.

Aggressive people see themselves as victims. They utilise their angry behaviour to defend themselves from the wrongs they have experienced. They struggle to control the strength of their emotions. As a result, they disregard other people's sentiments and rights.

 

How to deal with a toxic manager?

1. Recognise a manager's toxic personality.

Identifying a manager's toxicity is the first step in detecting toxic management and pressing for a managerial change. This is a critical problem, and there is no point in turning a blind eye and ignoring it. It can potentially deteriorate and harm the company's performance over time. 

HR should actively and carefully listen to the employees' wants and sentiments. Workplace difficulties, overwork, or even professional stress are examples. The best way to assist employees spot a toxic manager is to develop trust and encourage them to express their concerns and emotions. 

Effective communication is essential, and regular individual interviews should allow staff to vent their concerns and issues. This strategy has been employed in workplace diversity with success. After a problem has been identified, managers in authority should use neuromanagement to listen to employees with empathy and without judgment. Passing judgement during the process will make the staff feel untrustworthy, which may lead to the entire process being challenged.

 

2. Start the conversation.

The next step is to have a conversation with the toxic management. You should exercise extreme caution. Nonviolent communication skills are critical to avoid exacerbating the problem. 

There must be a balance between matrix management and toxic management. HR should maintain emotional stability while being neutral in dealing with the problem and evaluate the narcissistic manager's performance via performance management. These could include his feelings about the company. 

• Are they dealing with personal issues?

• How does the vision manifest itself within the organisation?

• How do they handle distant employees?

After hearing their point of view, discuss the unstated and the employees' unease. The topic is how to best manage the conflict without pointing fingers or incriminating them. Finding a win-win solution is excellent since everyone will be satisfied. In this case, it is up to HR, the employer, and other management to make the best decision.

 

3. Consider hiring a professional coach.

Conflict prevention and management are complex tasks. While every problem has a remedy, it is critical to address it as soon as it emerges. The leader or human resources should seek the assistance of professionals so that they can be coached to grasp nonviolent communication, better handle conflicts, and obtain leadership. This can include developing soft skills critical for reforming toxic supervisors. 

They can also be trained to manage diversity in the workplace successfully. After you have found a solution, you could want to sign up your toxic supervisors for managerial coaching sessions. The purpose is to raise their awareness of the situation and assist them in developing additional managerial skills via managerial innovation.

 

Toxic managers and their negative behaviours are prevalent in many businesses. On the other hand, their organisation must intervene and guarantee that they modify their poisonous practices.