Sometimes managers are afraid to be strong because they're afraid that their employees will think they're acting like jerks. Here's the funny thing. Almost always when your employees think you're a jerk it's because you're too weak, not because you're too strong.

There are five common Jerk Boss scenarios. Let me tell you what they are:

(#5) This is the boss who doesn't really keep track of what's going on, who doesn't really know who is doing what, where, why, when or how, but every once in a while shows up on the scene and makes a big decision that affects everyone. And that's going to make you seem like a jerk.

(#4) The number four Jerk Boss scenario is the boss who pretends things are up to people when they're not.
- "Hey, do it however you think it should be done, even though it's not up to you."
- And then a couple of hours go by, or a couple of days go by or a couple of weeks go by and the boss comes along and says, "What are you doing? Why are you doing it that way? Didn't you know we have a check list for that?"
- And I promise you that employee is sitting there thinking, "Hey, why didn't you give me the check list in the first place?"

(#3) The number three Jerk Boss scenario, this is the boss who lets small problems slide because you wouldn't want to come down on every small problem. But small problems fester and grow and turn into big problems and by the time they get back on your radar screen, they might be really big problems with serious consequences. That's going to make you seem like a jerk.

(#2) The number two Jerk Boss scenario is the boss who tries to build false rapport. This is the boss who pretends to be friends even when you're not. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes there are real friendships in the workplace. My view is friendships in the workplace are a complication. But this is the boss who pretends to be friends even when we're not. This is the boss who shoots the breeze, "Hey, how was your weekend? I understand you've got a bike. I was thinking about getting a bike. How much did your bike cost? Blah, blah, blah." But then the work gets serious and the boss gets all serious. Sometimes we call that the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome. What happens is, the friend starts to seem more and more like a fake and the boss starts to seem more and more like a jerk.

(#1) But you know what the number one Jerk Boss scenario is. You already know what it is. This is the boss who is weak, weak, weak, who soft pedals his or her authority, who tends to be friends, who soft pedals, soft pedals, weak, weak, weak, until they get angry. These are the bosses who only have the gumption to be strong when they get angry, and they come in and chew someone out, maybe the wrong person at the wrong time, about the wrong thing. Then they go back to work thinking, "I just did me some managing." And of course, there is nothing strong about a manager tantrum; that's just loud, nasty, and weak. And I promise you that's going to make you seem like a jerk.



BONUS MANAGEMENT TIP

Identify a common error made often by one or more employees that you really want to eliminate. First, evaluate the standard operating procedures related to the task or responsibility in question. Make sure the standard operating procedures for the task/responsibility are correct, up to date, thoroughly detailed and easy to understand and implement. Second, make sure that the standard operating procedures are known and practiced by every employee who might ever do the task/responsibility. Third, make a detailed step-by-step checklist spelling out the standard operating procedures and remind people to use the checklist whenever conducting the task/responsibility. Watch the common error disappear from your workplace.