By Dan Bobinski

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to tell a boss he’s full of it, it may be time to quit.

The other day I received a phone call from Tom (not his real name), someone who used to work for a former client. Tom had a great work ethic and did his job well, but the president of Tom’s company was a spoiled brat who just didn’t “get it” when it came to leading people. It’s what led Tom to eventually say “I’m out of here,” just like I said when dealing with the company a few years back.

It was Tom’s immediate supervisor who brought me in to work with Tom and the rest of his department. One day the company’s president (let’s call him Richard) paused to tell me how bad things were and how he needed to get thing into shape. I told him the trouble spots in question were within my realm of expertise and I could help.

Unfortunately, I found the heart of the problem was Richard’s childish, bullying attitude, and he had no desire to shake it. He just didn’t get that a leader cannot flaunt one’s position and flood the workplace with sarcasm and expect morale or production to improve. Eventually, when Richard took the employees’ input for how to improve operations and mocked it openly in a company-wide meeting, I quit. Richard thought he was being cute. I thought he was being an ass.

It’s been several years since I talked with anyone from that company, so Tom’s call was a surprise. He told me that he was now working elsewhere after tiring of Richard. He had been making great money, but there came a tipping point when the BS outweighed the gold, and Richard lost a great employee.

Some leaders just don’t get it.

I never said it to Richard’s face, but Tom’s phone call brought back a lot of memories, so I’ll say it now for all to hear: “Richard, try to get it: Your employees are not your puppets. It’s time to grow up and treat people (including yourself) with respect.”

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Filed in Business, Motivation, Management, Leadership, Team Building, Workplace