
How To Be A Horrible Boss - diego
http://diegobasch.com/how-to-be-a-horrible-boss
======
kabdib
Best bosses: Usually self-describe themselves as "meat shields" for their
troops. Ask "How can I help you do your job?" instead of "Why isn't that done
yet?" Understands the creative process.

Worst bosses: Ditherers, or opaque and random ciphers. Never present. Jerk you
from one task to another. Surprise you with bad reviews. Unwilling to pay for
good tools ("What's wrong with Notepad?") Sees you as a fungible cog or chess
piece to be moved around. Often non-technical, or "used to be technical" in an
ossified region of the industry (e.g., large aerospace firm). Uses Scrum as a
platform for micromanaging.

[I made a decision 25 years ago never to be a manager. I recently had the
opportunity to try it out again for a summer, and it sucked just as hard as I
remembered. I am an engineer, and I work with people in a far different way
than good managers do.]

~~~
orbitingpluto
"Unwilling to pay for (good) tools."

A manager where I once worked demanded that we continue to use (the unpaid for
shareware version of) WinZip on one computer that was dedicated to sending
data off to clients. After WinZip added the 1 second wait for every file ever
processed, he implemented a 'wait and come back rule'.

The count reached over 3000 at one point!

I would just use 7-zip or zip it in Cygwin. But it became so that when I
wasn't around clients would have to wait an extra hour to get their files. He
sometimes would just sit there and wait for the count to complete. A single
license was maybe $25 at the time?

~~~
umjames
How about when the good tools are free (as far as money), but your boss
doesn't want to use them because that would require him (as well as co-
workers) to learn something new?

My current employer still uses CVS. No one really uses it properly. I see
output files committed to repositories and I think I'm the only one who writes
commit messages since I haven't seen anyone else's when I look through the
history. I haven't seen anyone else create a branch.

I've mentioned Git both in private and in group meetings, but it always falls
on deaf ears. So I use Git via Cygwin and always keep it local on my machine.
I have Git ignoring the CVS directories and CVS ignoring the .git directory.
The master branch is for things that I check-in to/update from CVS. All my
real work is done in Git feature branches.

~~~
ArbitraryLimits
To be fair, if they can't use CVS right they're not going to use anything else
right, either.

~~~
umjames
No one's born knowing how to properly use a version control system, but that
doesn't mean you can't learn.

------
jmspring
I've been at more than my fair share of establishments. The boss that stands
out as the worst, hands down, had two traits that stood out:

1\. An alpha personality that could admit no wrong. 2\. A failure to leverage
his senior people for their abilities, everyone was treated as a contractor
and told what/how to do it.

This was a startup and the behavior basically resulted in a couple of us
leaving. There were other bits of the startup that were chaotic (and could be
attributed to a fast/changing environment), but this individuals behavior
sealed the deal for a couple of us.

Personally, I've had to manage a bit here and there. When it is a small
company/team, I really prefer to understand everyone's strengths and
weaknesses. Cater to the strengths, learn where I can, and try and fill in the
weaknesses with other's strengths. Even with many years of experience, there
is still something I can learn from most people (rockstar, average, etc.)

~~~
heretohelp
>This was a startup and the behavior basically resulted in a couple of us
leaving.

So you were at my last company? ;)

------
emmapersky
I've had a number of horrible bosses over the years (if you are reading this
and we still talk, i'm not referring to you!) and for me it falls into two
categories: trust and authoritarianism.

Trust is critical. If you hire an engineer you should trust that they can do
their job. If you don't think you can ever do that, don't hire them! It is
incredibly demoralising, and a sure sign you should plan an exit when your
boss tells you that he doesn't trust your code, especially when they write
poorly thought out, untested, spaghetti...

Authoritarianism is also a deal breaker, especially when it is applied simply
to assert dominance. A new alpha male manager coming in and declaring a new
company order without even trying to get to know the strengths and weaknesses
of his team is fatal. I've seen teams fall apart because of this.

I would probably suck at both of these things. I probably shouldn't be a
manager.

------
ChristianMarks
_Be patronizing_ I left a high-paying job after upper management installed a
smug, platitudinous director over my group. I disagree that people become what
you expect of them. I would not become an imbecile because my boss believed
that everyone else was an imbecile. There's no reason to lose one's dignity.

~~~
stavrianos
Worth pointing out that even if you personally did not become what the
director expected of you, by leaving you likel brought the remaining team's
average closer to the expectation.

~~~
ChristianMarks
I'm not certain they could be manipulated that easily. But that was out of my
hands. I couldn't stand attending mind-numbing meetings by a self-styled
expert on matters of common knowledge. I had to leave.

------
protomyth
On a tangent, I've noticed an interesting correlation between a high number of
bad bosses and a companies policy of frequently moving managers into new
positions to give them experience with all parts of the company. I think it
has something to do with reducing people to cogs.

------
Iv
My most recent problem : think you are like Steve Jobs. Seriously, this
disease seems rampant amongst manager recently. Is it anecdotal evidence or
has someone else observed that too ?

------
wisty
For these articles, it would be good to consider the other side:

Talk a lot, do not listen much - people need to know what's going on. A good
boss has to keep everyone informed of the stuff that matters.

Be patronizing - you need to ensure all the right checklists are followed
(security, stability, etc).

Be as cryptic as possible, never direct - don't micromanage.

Encourage bureaucracy, and demand visibility into everything - documentation
and process is really important.

Show them who's boss - you have to make sure everyone is co-operating, and
that silos are broken down.

These "problems" can be strengths, or necessary evils. It's more a question of
when the behavior is a problem, rather than which behavior is always best.

~~~
ricardobeat
I'm having trouble seeing "don't listen too much, be patronizing and show
who's boss" as something positive.

~~~
wisty
It depends on how you frame it.

"Don't listen too much" could be framed as "Keep your team informed".

"Be patronizing" could mean "Make sure the little things get done".

"Show who's boss" could be "Be a leader", "Be responsible", or "Don't be
afraid to delegate".

~~~
FuzzyDunlop
What you see as re-framing, I'm seeing as distorting, and they work better as
separate examples of good management.

For example:

Ensuring correct procedure is followed doesn't mean you have to be
patronising.

Keeping your team informed doesn't mean you don't have to listen, or you have
to talk too much.

Being a leader, responsible, or not afraid to delegate doesn't mean you have
to "show who's boss".

And I don't say this with any intention to cause offense, nor is it directed
at you specifically, but I think if, for each point, you think the inverse is
true, then you may have more in common with 'bad manager' than you think.

~~~
wisty
Yes, my problem is that a lot of these "5 things managers should do" lists
describe a particular kind of bad manager (the article seems to be talking
about an egotist).

If these articles don't give a bit more context, then they are easy to
misinterpret.

------
johnx123-up
According to HN posts, Steve Jobs seems to have posed these characteristics.
But I'm sure he is not a horrible Boss.

Edit: So, it is the _results_ that speak for you.

~~~
diego
Being a horrible boss and being a successful executive are different things.
Steve Jobs _was_ a horrible boss by all accounts. The first chapter of
Managing Humans addresses exactly this point.

------
jswanson
He calls out 'weekly status meetings' as one of the things a manager should
not do, but depending on how they are handled I think it could be a good
thing.

A place I worked at used to do a '5 minute meeting', every day, right after
lunch. Of course, it ended up being longer than 15 minutes, but in a varied
team where many times other people have no idea what you are working on, it
can actually be somewhat 'motivational'.

~~~
prophetjohn
Agreed. My (small) team does a 15-ish minute standup every morning where
everyone gives a status on what they're working on. I think it's nice to be
able to see the status of how everything is going instead of just sitting down
in front of my computer in the morning and leaving, never knowing what several
other guys are doing.

------
kc87750
A little compassion on both sides would go a long way towards making
'horrible' bosses better and employees function better as a team. I find a lot
of employees these days, especially younger ones are too entitled and self
important to appreciate the more subtle sides of compromise. Especially if
you're not constantly telling them how wonderful they are (when they barely
understand their own job) and expect the same trophies for participation that
they've received all their privileged, sheltered lives. Nor do they understand
how a manager, especially a new, perhaps inexperienced manager might not have
the bureaucratic pull to obtain the best tools for everyone and must operate
within certain budgets. Trust me, your boss, no matter how horrible, wants you
to succeed. They might not always take the best approach, but they went from
being great at a task to being in charge of seeing to it the task they love
gets done better than they could do it by others who don't necessarily know
how, or want to put in the time it takes to make it great. This article is
typical of the whining and entitled little d-bags around the entire working
world who think they could manage better than their current boss, often having
no idea what that takes, or simply believing in their heart of naive hearts
that if they are simply everyone's buddy their team will succeed beyond all
their wildest dreams. Ha. Good luck! I hope they get promoted soon. Then
revisit this ridiculous article and see how many of the things 'horrible
bosses' do are symptoms of a larger machine at work than just their function
and their subordinates role within it. And don't even get me started on
micromanaging. Most employees I know can barely organize their own projects,
believing it their god given liberal arts education to 'think in piles rather
than folders.' but what they fail to understand is that their manager is
responsible for picking up all their shitty, entitled little pieces and
presenting them cohesively to THEIR superiors. So, yeah, fuckhead...they do
need to know what you're doing.

------
pgrote
My job as a technical manager is to serve the people I am responsible for.
Simple as that. Transparency, direct feedback and appreciation are some of the
tools. In the end, my job is to make sure everyone on the team has what they
need to meet our goals.

~~~
eitally
The interesting thing is determining where, and successfully managing, the
point in one's career where the "people you're responsible" for inflects to
become closer to shareholders than employees.

------
rickmb
How to be a "good" boss very much depends on the people and the circumstances.
There's really only one constant: clarity.

Even if the boss's style is authoritarian micromanagement, which most people
on HN won't feel comfortable with, if said boss provides clarity and
consistency certain types of people will be happy to work for them.

Knowing what is expected of you is the most important part of being
comfortable in the role of employee. The rest is more a matter of personal
preference.

------
kabuks
He suggests "managing humans" as a good book for managers to read. Just
started reading it, and it seems decent. Anybody have other good resources?

~~~
arupchak
'First, Break All the Rules' is a great read. For new managers, I highly
reccomend 'The First 90 Days'

Remember not to just accept everything in these books. They should be read
with the expectation that you will have to pull out the useful pieces that are
relevant to you.

------
dhughes
I know most people would know a boss was bad but I wonder if most could say
why other than the obvious such as yelling.

And how many people have been poisoned in a bad office atmosphere spending
their career there thinking that's just the way it is.

------
_rj
Nice points.

I do see problem with trust, not many would do that unless you are already
proven before you join a work place. Moreover if you are a talented
programmer, some see you as a threat.

~~~
troels
I was once told that trust is not something one earns from you - it's
something you chose to invest in others. I think that's quite right.

------
steilpass
"Don't learn about management."

So how am I going to learn about management? What are good classes? What are
good websites to ask these questions?

~~~
MDCore
I'm found the manager tools podcast (at manager-tools.com) to be valuable.

------
Ziomislaw
I really like that 'back to HN' link. I wouldn't vote for the article if you
didn't make it easy for me, thanks :)

------
Tomis02
> Have weekly status meetings even if there is nothing new to say,

I wonder what that says about the daily Agile stand-up-s.

------
MaxGabriel
As someone who's never had one, what is the general role of a manager of
programmers?

~~~
lotharbot
When my wife was at a very large company, her good managers [0] did these
things:

\-- make sure the programming team understands the customer's priorities,
goals, timelines, etc.

\-- pay attention to the task breakdown, making sure that all of the
programmers know what pieces to work on, and making sure that important pieces
don't get overlooked

\-- make sure the programming team has the resources they need. Fight with
upper management, procurement, HR, or whoever else in order to get the
necessary equipment and personnel.

[0] This is not always a single person with the "manager" title. Sometimes
it's a "team lead", or multiple people with multiple titles.

------
diedsj
Although i agree with most points made in this article, I think, having been a
manager/teamlead of many programming teams, i think i might write an article
on "how to be a horrible employee"...

------
pinaceae
while these horrible boss threads are always enjoyable (hey, scott adams'
career is built on it), how about switching perspective for a moment.

the majority of programmers are employees.

what makes a horrible employee?

\- disregard of communication etiquette. you're running late on something, a
meeting, a task, anything - say it, write it, text it early, and loud enough
for your boss to hear. a manager needs that info to counter-steer.

\- in the same vein, the non-ability of constructive criticism. don't just
think 'this won't work' but continue to work on it anyhow. communicate it, in
plain language, with reasons. want to be excellent? provide an alternative.

\- play politics. try to brown-nose. etc. hint: your manager likely became one
because he/she is good at politics. can see through your attempts and gets
easily annoyed by it.

as a manager you need to protect your team from bad apples. the no-assholes
rule applies, but as programmers tend to have anti-social behaviors it is
harder to apply. is the behavior of the employee destroying the productivity
of others? is his/her productivity high enough to compensate? a rockstar
programmer might be worth putting up with.

managing people is hard. and you can't learn it like you can with programming.
no theoretical studies help, no tutorials, no forums. no stackexchange to
quickly solve a problem. that's why a lot of managers suck - cause they are on
their own. or as Peter Drucker put it, there are only a few possibilities to
_learn_ true management skills out there - the army being the biggest of them,
followed by the boy scouts. think about that and what it means for modern
organizations.

~~~
ricardobeat
Do you really see the army as a reference in management? Focus on discipline,
strict hierarchies and codes doesn't do much good for most software
businesses.

And yes, you _can_ learn it. Every profession that involves people has it's
dose of "magic" that you must grasp - project management isn't special. Ask a
teacher.

~~~
hef19898
Not even inn leadership one my think (the army as an example, I mean), but in
terms of management of large organisations, yes armed forces (as long as they
are used from time to time, so NOT the germen ones) or the roman catholic
church are pretty good examples. For leadership, you rather go look somewhere
else for examples.

~~~
pinaceae
particularly in leadership, why would you single that one out?

squad leaders, platoon leaders, up to officers - they all lead people. all
they rely on is their people. if you are out there in afghanistan all that can
save your life is your people.

the days of WWI style large-scale battles are long over. ever talked to
veterans? most i talked to confessed that it is pretty likely that more
officers died by 'friendly fire' than enemy contact. if you suck as a leader
in war, feedback is pretty direct.

the modern army is the outcome of a lot of field testing. it is a learning
organization, they employ their own historians to assess past activities and
learn from them.

leaders are actually being trained in leadership. practical training, you get
your own team in a controlled environment and then exercise with them. which
organization has such a process?

i particularly like the AAR. not even SCRUM has such a feedback loop, nothing
is learned.

~~~
wpeterson
A good sprint retrospective in Scrum should be similar to what I've read about
After Action Reviews (AAR).

One the dust settles, spend time to figure out what went well, what can be
improved, and what the on-going issues are. They both seem like decent
continuous improvement vehicles to me.

~~~
pinaceae
what's really great about the AAR process in the military is that it is set up
as an open forum, where rank does not apply. it is time-limited, to be done
right after the exercise. it is highly focused, not a bitching session.

see this pdf for details:
[http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/tc_25-20/tc25-20.pd...](http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/tc_25-20/tc25-20.pdf)

~~~
ricardobeat
That's the description of an ideal sprint review.

------
mthreat
One thing that I've found extremely demotivating is when a manager tells me
what NOT to work on. I'd have a side project that I'd start on my own time,
and I'd tell my manager "I've got this prototype of X working, and I'd like to
spend more time on it / test it out." He'd say "I don't want you to spend any
time on that". Instant loss of motivation. And this wasn't my first month on
the job, it was after maybe 3-4 years on the job, already having proved
myself, etc.

~~~
GavinB
This is really tricky. Often the person telling you not to put more time into
something is trying to protect you from later disappointment or waste effort.
Sometimes you need time to look at a prototype and figure out how it fits into
your broader strategy.

The danger is that you keep working on it, and develop it in a certain
direction. Then we often end up in one of two failure modes:

1\. We need something different from what you built. You have to throw your
(perfectly good) work away. This is even more demotivational!

2\. We need something different from what you built. But you've already built
this thing that sort of does what we need . . . so we keep it anyway. This is
bad for the organization.

I'm seeing negatives on all sides. Suggestions on how to deal with these
situations?

~~~
Bootvis
Instead of commanding to stop working on the project say what needs to be
changed to make the project useful for the organization.

~~~
protomyth
Or maybe figure out why this particular side project by your employee is
important. It seems like a lot of these "side project to fix problem"
situations come from a manager not knowing / not caring about the true
barriers their employees are encountering or what is really costing the
company time and money.

------
mthreat
Every manager should also watch Office Space :)

------
edbong
and The Corporation

