5 Ways to Get the Most from the Worst

What do you do when incompetence is staring you in the face, and that incompetence happens to be your boss??Do you smile? Get discouraged? Upset? Well, how about being... grateful? Grateful that you are in the presence of something very special. Something so impactful that someday you will remember that experience and be better than the person standing in front of you today.?

If you ever have said to yourself, “I could be such a better leader than the person in charge,” you might not realize it, but you are in the anti-Yoda training of your career. The anti-Yoda teaches you how you don’t want to act as a leader. Sure great leaders are a gift, but crappy ones take you on an introspective journey and ideally an awakening into the person you aspire to be.

I’ve been very fortunate to have experienced some next-level non-critical thinkers, which has generously taught many lessons. Below are the greatest hits.

Thank you for presenting my work!

You are the Expedia of my career, intermediating me from my destiny by taking a vig on my successes. This individual keeps talent in their back pocket, bogarting the spotlight, and in worse-case scenarios will save themselves by bartering their inadequacies with your hard work.?

This strategy has a half-life, as astute leaders make it a sport lancing these infections. There are no six-star generals in business and the more you show your ability to build and elevate your team, the more kudos and respect you get. Take credit for mentoring talent and take pride in watching them grow.

These nearsighted eagles mask their lack of knowledge and experience by soaring above the reality below. Not one to soil themselves in the trenches, they are master delegators setting unrealistic expectations while providing obscure guidance.

Lack of knowledge or experience doesn’t make you less of a leader, but a ‘real’ human on a quest to upgrade yourself. So own it, jump into the mud, and gain a healthy appreciation of what it takes to get it done and earn the respect of your team. Ask your talent to mentor you, set their own timelines and deliverables. Your job is to learn, support and hold them to their commitment.

Thank you for my review... and who are you?

The absentee manager brings minimum coaching and maximum sentencing. This person is so self important that engaging with the team isn’t a priority. These types of annual reviews create a transactional dark hole, where the absence of substance and rapport push talent to a more nurturing environment.

One big meeting is useless, especially to someone you haven’t taken an interest in. Being a transformational leader means creating an affinity with your talent by showing you care and they are wanted. So break up annual big block reviews, into small meetings where you can provide guidance and iterative ways to improve.

Everything you preach is the opposite of what you do!

I’m from Earth and no one seems to know you are from Uranus. That is because this type of manager is a total swengally as they kiss up, but poop down. So their boss thinks this person walks on water, but they really use their talent as stepping stones. This is another short-term career tactic and always ends poorly.

Your people are watching you all the time and connecting your words with your actions. Be the ‘realest’ version of yourself — flaws and all. The quality of a productive team is directly related to their leveraged model of talent. This behavior creates poor performance and turnover. Leaders of dysfunctional teams are the first to be exited.

How are you still here?

Everyone knows my manager is horrible, but my manager is untouchable because this person knows how to work the system. There are certain people in the business that focus their creativity in abusing the policies for their own self preservation. This is a sensitive topic, but seems to be trending. Unfortunately, this person is a rhesus monkey in a culture and teaches the wrong lessons to good people.

With so many perks and benefits, taking advantage of them might seem like the thing your manager is doing to get ahead, but it is really is a short term strategy and long term career liability. If you want to be part of a growing business treat it like your own. Depleting resources and exploiting policies is a detriment to even the strongest P&L that everyone has to pay for.

Bad examples camp out in our minds and steer our behaviors. By no means should you thank that bad leader, but let them teach you in the purest way about the person you aspire to be. Changing your perspective can help you grin and have empathy for bad leaders. Maybe if that bad leader had a better mentor or if someone called them out sooner, could they have been saved? Or, more importantly, do you think this is really the type of person they aspire to be?

Wherever you go, you will find inadequate managers. So do you outlast them or do you quit? A lot of people opt out, as the number one reason talent leaves is because of a bad boss. But if you really like your company, believe in it and want to make it better, maybe look differently at your boss and learn from the experience. Bad bosses will come and ideally go, positions will open up, and, with some patience, the cream will rise to the top. When you do rise to the top, be the leader that you hope to be led by.

Care to share? I’d love to hear your experiences… please comment below and I’ll do my best to respond.