Careers Slideshow: The CEO from Hell: 12 Truly Bad Leaders
By Dennis McCafferty | Posted 08-27-2010The Bean Counter
Want to take your IT team out to lunch to reward them for putting in the extra time and effort for a job well done? Go ahead. This one will grill you about why you opted for a nice sushi bar instead of having pizza delivered to the office.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
This one needs a mood ring. He goes from Mr. Nice Guy to a growling, Mean Old Dog within a nanosecond. And you will never know why he does this—or when he'll do it again.
The Credit Taker
So you came up with a virtualization plan that saved the company $100,000 a year in energy costs? Great idea! So great that your credit-thief of a CEO will claim it was his idea.
The Absent Executive
He's rarely in the office. When he is, the door is always closed. He says 'I'm constantly in meetings.' But the people he's supposed to be meeting with are at their desks. What gives?
The Know-It-All
This is a boss who constantly needs to tell you how much more he knows about your job than you do. This micromanager will make you need a hydraulic lift to just to get you out of bed every day.
The Clueless Decision-Maker
He hides in an office and cooks up a 'brilliant' reorganization plan in which you lose four indispensable employees and "get to keep" five mediocre ones. Why? Because he never bothers to find out who actually does what for the company, and who the best performers are.
The History Revisionist
This executive never seems to recall that it was his idea to have you pursue a systems 'upgrade' that slowed employee production by 31 percent.
The Incessant Consensus Seeker
He must always gather you and all the other senior managers to get 100 percent agreement on the Next, Great Plan, even if it means you're stuck all day in a conference room to achieve this.
The Visionless, Gutless Wonder
This executive will find 99 ways to shoot down a great initiative before it happens. 'Status quo' is the way to go here. And you'll go nowhere if you stay in this situation.
The Master of Passive-Aggressive Pathology
You will never know anything is wrong—until you read your evaluation and find out that apparently everything you were doing was wrong.
The Kool-Aid Drinker
There is an entire encyclopedia of motivational/inspirational books in his office—and his management style changes every time he reads a new one. And he requires you to actually read them, too.
The Your Time is My Time Leader
You get 4 a.m. phone calls at home. You're required to cut short your beach vacation to fly cross-country and attend a client meeting. This boss believes he owns you.
