'Leaders lead people by creating circles of influence and value,
whereas Managers manage work, create circles of power and count value’.
………Vineet
Nayar
In my 38 years of experience, I had always been a ‘soldier’ who grew from the ranks, from beginning as a ‘Ledger Keeper’ and to finally rise
as a ‘Managing Director’ (salaried though) and worked under, along with and above
Managers, of different types.
I had to shift
jobs several times, (thus empowering my CV enough
to become a nightmare for any evaluating HR Executive) and in the process, had to work and
interact with over a dozen bosses. Though the choice of an organisation could
be mine, the choice of colleagues or bosses could not be.
I had to encounter
a variety of bosses, colleagues and subordinates in the management, on the line
et al., nationally and internationally too, that left me with such experience that
is now culminating into writing this blog, dwelling a bit on those types of
Managers, their styles and syndromes (patterns).
But before I
embarked on this task, I trawled the internet to understand if any more type of managers are added to the subject of Management, other than the traditional
Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez-faire types, taught to me.
Some Regular Types of Managers
Wikipedia
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Music Think Tank
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Steve. W. Martin (HBR)
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Ask.com
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Management degrees.net
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Allbusiness.com
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Autocratic
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Too busy to call you back-(Man)ager
|
Mentors
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Authoritarian
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Autocratic
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Problem-solving
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Consultative
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Rager
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Expressives
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Paternalistic
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Consultative
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Pitchforking
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Persuasive
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Name Dropper
|
Sergeants
|
Democratic
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Persuasive
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Pontificating
|
Democratic
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Drama Llama
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Teflons
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Laissez-faire
|
Democratic
|
Presumptuous
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Chaotic
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Dad or Mom-(Man)ager
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Micro Managers
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Laissez-faire
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Perfect
|
|
Laissez-faire
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Over Confidents
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Passive
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Management By Walking Around
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Amateurs
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Proactive
|
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Asian Paternalistic
|
I was
gratified to note that though there were some additional types, most of them
inevitably were the traditional categories, albeit a change in the nomenclature
and thus leaving me, to bring in my own types, with considerable comfort.
Now, be my guest,
as I take you through some of the ‘Success Syndromes’ of the managers and
employees I had the dis / pleasure to work with.
‘Babushka / Matryoshka Doll syndrome’
Most Managers,
I came across, suffer from this syndrome and in turn, the organisation also
suffers.
As they are
not always leaders, they want to oversee everything like a ‘Big Brother is
Watching’ and this gives them the feeling that they need to employ people who
are less qualified, or smaller in stature than themselves.
Thus they get
to indulge in nepotism, and prefer to hire incapable nincompoops, who may not
even suit the job, just by virtue of the servitude abilities of the hired.
Eventually, these Managers would be forced to hire more people to compensate
the incapability of others and making everybody accountable for everything.
They would not
like to place thorough systems and processes in place. Instead they would
create a powerless team putting wrong people in leadership positions, rendering
them to be more ornamental than functional. These powerless team members also
would be frequently changed; as the managers suffering this syndrome think that
a person who is good for one work should be good for others too.
These are the
managers who would not have heard about David Ogilvy (considered the father of
advertising) or do not care for what he said, even if they had heard of him.
Images - courtesy Google Search
{“When you are
appointed to head an office in the Ogilvy & Mather chain, I send you one of
these Russian dolls. Inside the smallest, you will find this message. If each of us hire people who are smaller
than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs, but if each of us hires
people who are bigger than we are, Ogilvy & Mather will become a company of
giants”}
………David Mackenzie Ogilvy (1911-1999)}
‘Blowing the Cover syndrome’ ©
Weak that they
are, these managers necessarily rely on the office gossip and intelligence
provided regularly by the ‘trustworthy’ side-kicks, like clock-work, but at the
time of reckoning, throws them to the wolves, blowing their cover. After this,
the ‘intelligent’ people cannot work anymore with their teams, as they will be
perennially suspected.
‘Cul-de-Sac
syndrome’ ©
These are the
managers for whom all sort of communication is one-sided - only from them. Once
they have finished their spiel, they clam up and try as you may, become
unapproachable. It is like the dead-end streets.
‘Duck-n-Drive syndrome’ ©
Those of the
middle level managers, who are sandwiched between senior management and line
staff, develop an antenna for trouble and carefully navigate between danger and
safety. It is an art itself but much
time is wasted in the ‘ducking and driving’.
‘Hearing Aide syndrome’ ©
Managers who
listen to only those whom they think they trust as ‘aides’ suffer from this syndrome.
‘Instant Coffee syndrome’ ©
The Managers
who want all solutions and results instantaneously and keep chasing every
second and in the process only help in delaying the work. They want everything
that minute - instantly.
‘Mobile Management syndrome’ ©
These are the
managers who are literally wedded / welded to their mobile phones. They do not
need to know all the functions of the mobile. They just need to speak - anytime
they want to. These are the Managers who never hesitate (I suspect they could
even revel in the idea) to disturb others. They, nonchalantly, enter others’
privacy at all times. No office hours, no weekends, and no holidays or
vacations. They simply have to unburden themselves, even for trivial matters.
I was lucky
enough to get a boss who never cared where I was or what I was doing. All I had
to do is listen, note and act. Very often these calls used to land while I was
praying or driving or sometimes even while in the toilet. But no sir, no
excuse, no let up. My prayers did not seem to have had any effect at all.
(This might sound unbelievable for the
overseas readers, but it is indeed true that most of the managers swear by this
practice - If you are employed, you have to be ready for all eventualities,
appears to be their notion)
‘Prairie Fire syndrome’ ©
These Managers,
unwittingly or sometimes deliberately, create troubles and spend considerable
time in finding solutions to the troubles. In the case of the real prairie
fires, the eco-system benefits ultimately, but in the corporate ‘fires’ only
the Manager may benefit assuming that the trouble started could be contained.
‘Rag doll syndrome’ ©
These are the
Managers who are quite childish.
As children, who
are enamoured by a new doll, dump the old rag doll, these Managers also think
that any new member into the team will be a messiah and can do miracles! So all attention /
assistance is driven / given on to the new member. The earlier ‘aide’ is dumped
un-noticed.
There would be
occasions, later, when the Manager realises (at own peril) that the new member
is not dear ‘Arnie’ or 'Sly' and tries to seek
out the ‘old rag doll’ now dumped on to garbage. By which time the old ‘doll’
gets mauled and may not be really productive any more, as earlier.
‘Toilet Seat syndrome’ ©
This is the
most interesting syndrome.
When we sit on
the ‘pot’ in the toilet every day, doing our business and relaxing, we become
creative and get seemingly good ideas (This could be
nauseating and distressing for a few, but the truth remains that a lot of
creative ideas do generate here). The Manager suffering from this syndrome makes mental notes of
such ideas and, soon after reaching office or if it cannot wait, would instruct
the team members, even over phone, to dump whatever they were doing earlier,
and take up this new idea.
Now the
problem is, the ‘pot’ is used almost every day (we trust) and thus giving room for creative ideas
every day. Yes, now you guessed it. The Manager rushes to office with new ideas
every day and literally creates chaos and no work takes place, really, with
frequent changes in directions. It is like a train trying to go forward and
backward at the same time. Only noise is created and energies wasted, but not
an inch is gained.
‘Used Condom syndrome’ ©
Many a time,
Managers use their subordinates and colleagues for dirty jobs and once the
purpose is served, throw them off as used condoms after the orgy is over.
We see these
types of Managers in droves in the recent decades.
If we note
carefully, many a time these syndromes usually culminate with the Autocratic
Managers, however benevolent they may appear to be.
And assume,
for a minute, what happens if one Manager has to suffer from one or more of
these syndromes. At least a few Managers I came across were a combination of
four or five of these syndromes and a couple of them with all.
Dear readers,
who might be tempted to think of these as exaggerations may kindly note and be
assured that not even an iota is exaggerated, and all these have been
experienced / suffered / tolerated / protested upon by me, in my professional
voyage.
This also does
not mean that I did not work with good people and Managers. I did work with several
good people also, but as is nature’s law, we always to tend to remember more of
the bad.
Readers may
also be interested in knowing, as a Top Manager, what type of a syndrome I
suffer from. While I guess I can diagnose the same reasonably unbiased, I am of
the firm opinion that my colleagues would be better entitled to have a say on
that and should be given an opportunity for that – even if it has to be for my obituary. :-)
So, with such
‘Success Mantras’ one should only be braced for ‘Certain Failures’ we think; right?
But, now let me share that, most organisations where I worked and which have such ‘Leaders’ and
‘Managers’ are still doing quite well, but sadly a couple of organisations,
which had the right and very good processes and systems, and Managers who were
more democratic and the right teams, had folded down.
Call this the
‘Law of Destiny’ or one of those ‘Laws of Murphy’?
One reason for
this, I found, is that the rest of the employees / team members get used to
these syndromes and tantrums and learn to tolerate and live with them (Duck n Drive). After all, they too need a job and are as insecure as the
Managers.
What do you
think? You tell me!
Till
then,
Krutagjnatalu
(Telugu), Nanri (Tamil), Dhanyavaadagalu (Kannada), Nanni (Malayalam),
Dhanyavaad (Hindi), Thanks (English), Dhonyabaad (Bangla), Gracias (Spanish),
Grazie (Italian), Danke Schon (Deutsche), Merci (French), Obrigado (Portuguese),
Shukraan (Arabic), Shukriya (Urdu), Aw-koon (Khmer), Kawp Jai Lhai Lhai
(Laotian), Kob Kun Krab (Thai) and Asante (Kiswahili).
Hemantha Kumar
Pamarthy
Chennai, India
I am sure u had names in your mind when u went on to write on each leadership style. How did u invent opt names for these leaders?
ReplyDeleteUr english is as good as truths in ur blog. I enjoyed.
Success happens not because of any great people; it is question of being in the business at the right time in the right place. Business succeed; people get names.
If ur luck has gone to f***, u would not be there.
Keep writing.
With warm regards
Yes, dear Logs. And thank you for the kind words. Coming from you I know that they are more than normal compliments :-) Most obliged.
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog read.Very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your encouraging and kind words Mr. Narasimhan :-)
ReplyDeleteThis has been and always will be my favorite piece. I keep coming back to it.
ReplyDeleteThank you and Namastey dear Richie Rich!
Delete