There's plenty of examples of great managers in business - inspirational leaders who can motivate and organise their teams, and make the right decisions under pressure. But what about the examples of bad bosses? If you are interested in becoming a boss (or are one) make sure you don't have these attributes and qualities of a bad boss.

1. 8
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SIGNS YOU’RE A
bad boss
CAN’T
MANAGE

2. If you aspire to be the boss, it's worth
thinking about the attributes and
qualities you need to do the job well.
You want to be someone who is respected
by your employer, team members and
fellow managers, not somebody who is
ridiculed for your incompetence.
AVOID THE FOLLOWING
COMMON MISTAKES OF
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BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT...

3. • Be comfortable addressing people
one-on-one and as part of a group
• Be sensitive when dealing with
personal matters
• Be empathetic and understanding
and provide support during
difficult times
If you can’t communicate
effectively with your staff,
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YOU CAN’T BE THE BOSS.
1INABILITY TO
communicate

4. CONFIDENTIALITY
IS IMPORTANT,
however if you are seen to
hide too much, it will be difficult
for team members to trust and
respect you.
Keep people informed as to
what is going on. Employees
will appreciate the transparency,
and this will also reduce the
likelihood of damaging
rumours spreading.
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2TOO MUCH
secrecy

5. If you respond in a different way
whenever the same situation arises -
according to your mood, or simply a
whim - employees will struggle to take
you seriously.
You should have set policies and
processes in place to ensure
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3INCONSISTENT
decision making
FAIR TREATMENT.

6. You are ultimately
responsible for the
performance - individual
and collective - of the
people working under
you, so there can be
no passing the buck.
If you try to claim the glory when one of
your team members makes a valuable
contribution, you'll quickly find yourself
ON SHAKY GROUND.
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4
TAKING
THE CREDIT
& passing
the buck

7. You have to give employees some
autonomy in the workplace, in
order to get the best out of them. If
you're not confident in their ability to
do the job to the required standard,
then give the work to someone else.
BETTER STILL, DON'T
HIRE THEM IN THE
FIRST PLACE!
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5PENCHANT FOR
micromanagement

8. SOUR RELATIONS,
6MAKING
UNREASONABLE
requests
You can't order workers to arrive
to the office early and stay late,
nor work through their lunch
hour.
Nor can you cancel their annual
leave at short notice - it will
almost inevitably
making it more difficult to
maximise productivity going
forward.
©Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

9. You may think
employees love your
showmanship in the office,
enjoy your quirky emails
about irrelevant topics,
and look forward to your
bad jokes.
CHANCES ARE,
THEY DON'T!
7LOVING THE
limelight
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10. You must be seen to treat
everybody as equal and give
them fair opportunity to do their
best in the workplace.
©Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.
NOT MAKE
FRIENDS.
8PLAYING
favourites
Your job is to manage them
effectively, not make friends.

11. For more leadership and management advice like this, visit
news.roberthalf.co.uk
©Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.