Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
An interesting thing has happened at my office that I think would be an interesting topic for discussion. I work at a leading IT Company with offices all over the world. We like to think of ourselves as an employer of choice (employee friendly) but also a successful profit making organization.
About a year ago, the company was able to attract a man who was well known in the industry. He was given a huge signing bonus and a great paycheck. He also was given the biggest office in the building and a number of other perks.
He is full of energy and charisma and has the personality of ten men combined. He is a real charmer when he has to be, but HE IS JUST A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING AND BOSS. He has no management skills but is an incredible technical expert and rainmaker for the company.
He yells, screams, insults and ridicules his staff in front of everyone all the time. When that does not work his cold glacial (I do not approve of you) looks at members of his team scares everyone to death. He is a male version of the charactor played by Meryl Streep in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" But in this case he is more vocal and the field is Technology not fashion.
A few weeks ago, his entire team (12 direct reports) went to the Head of the local office and asked him to fire our rainmaker, their boss. To get the entire team to stick their neck out is quite impressive! They had developed a list of complaints that were shocking to say the least. This list was put on the company bulletin board. The man was not fired and he is pushing to eliminate his entire staff. Which would be difficult because there would not be any trained people to do the work.
What should our top senior management team do about this employee relations situation? The offensive rainmaker has brought millions into the company and will not admit he is a bad manager. In fact since the meeting two of his staff were fired and the others are hanging on a thread. So?
If they didn't fire him then, they are not going to fire him now. His staff should start either looking for internal transfers or other jobs. I had a boss that was completely unreasonable and I went to the owner of the company and told him something like "I cannot work with Paul anymore, I really enjoy working here at X company but I feel that to be productive I need be transfered" implying that I'd quit if I weren't moved somewhere else (and actually I was ready to do it) but they transfer me the next week. In your case the boss is a total jerk but if he's making millions for the company I'd say his team needs to start thinking in moving on.
I've seen this happen multiple times in a government agency over a period of years. The powers that be would continue to support the bad actor until his staff was decimated; then they would either reassign him or he would start to see the writing on the wall and move somewhere else with a good job reference (to inflict himself on some other unsuspecting staff).
If his staff can transfer within the firm, then they can wait out the narcissistic guy's departure and transfer back into the unit later if the opportunity arises.
It always boggles my mind that administrators put up with these types for as long as they do. Most of these showboaters, however, have made an art of "kiss up and sh-t down". It amazes me that the head honchos would rather lose the majority of a good, trained staff rather than rein one glory-grabbing joker in.
If he is making millions for the compnay, the bottom line talks. Look elswhere or for a transfer.
I was going to say the same thing. As long as he's making money for the company, they're going to be hard pressed to make changes. Sad but true in this day and age.
If he was a lower level worker they would have already told him that he was a "bad fit" and showed him the door. He gets away with it because he is a manager. I think it's sad that the company holds him to a lesser standard. You can treat people any way that you want and do anything just because you're making sales. Well...maybe they should find someone that makes sales AND is a good boss!
I feel bad for those 12 people working for him. They stood up for themselves and refused to be sh*t on and look at the reward they get for speaking up to a bully. All 12 will either be fired or quit, I fear.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,757,602 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oregon Transplant
An interesting thing has happened at my office that I think would be an interesting topic for discussion. I work at a leading IT Company with offices all over the world. We like to think of ourselves as an employer of choice (employee friendly) but also a successful profit making organization.
About a year ago, the company was able to attract a man who was well known in the industry. He was given a huge signing bonus and a great paycheck. He also was given the biggest office in the building and a number of other perks.
He is full of energy and charisma and has the personality of ten men combined. He is a real charmer when he has to be, but HE IS JUST A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING AND BOSS. He has no management skills but is an incredible technical expert and rainmaker for the company.
He yells, screams, insults and ridicules his staff in front of everyone all the time. When that does not work his cold glacial (I do not approve of you) looks at members of his team scares everyone to death. He is a male version of the charactor played by Meryl Streep in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" But in this case he is more vocal and the field is Technology not fashion.
A few weeks ago, his entire team (12 direct reports) went to the Head of the local office and asked him to fire our rainmaker, their boss. To get the entire team to stick their neck out is quite impressive! They had developed a list of complaints that were shocking to say the least. This list was put on the company bulletin board. The man was not fired and he is pushing to eliminate his entire staff. Which would be difficult because there would not be any trained people to do the work.
What should our top senior management team do about this employee relations situation? The offensive rainmaker has brought millions into the company and will not admit he is a bad manager. In fact since the meeting two of his staff were fired and the others are hanging on a thread. So?
In my organization we have the same problem. We get managers who were "promoted" from the ranks of craft workers that, while they may have been decent workers with things, are lousy people handlers. They cuss, issue hollow threats, berate individuals in front of others and do not even try to understand the people that work for them. I have had more than one shouting match with my immediate boss.
I wanted to pull up this interesting post up to the current time because it seemed like such an interesting topic.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What an interesting post
