Lipstick On Pig

Just search for the miserable faces on the bus every morning and you’ll see the people heading to work who likely have leaders that would make you shake your head and wonder, “How did they ever get this far?”

Moronic, egotistical, riding power trips, you almost suspect some bosses out there take delight in driving employees to a point where they are as miserable as they are.

And that’s just the annoying ones. Others are so vindictive and spiteful that they can cause very troubling and very real mental illnesses down the track.

The Australian Institute of Management are corporate doctors, they carry out their work like GP’s who might be called into the office just to give the place a ‘check-up’, but in other more extreme cases, they’re called into companies when the situation is terminal.

And when it comes to dealing with ‘cancerous bosses’ and how they destroy business, CEO David Pich is the head surgeon. 

Mr Pich has heard every horror story imaginable when it comes to horrible bosses, and has even had the misfortune of working for some himself.

He provided Ten Eyewitness News with five very real examples of leadership scenarios which have taken place in the workforce – four of which are examples of bosses which Mr Pich himself has worked under. 

So if your boss fits into any of these categories, it might be time to look for work somewhere else.

     MR TOUGH 

       Mr Pich explains the ‘Tough Guy’ example using a boss he encountered while working for a software company in Australia. 

“The managing director took us for an off-sight meeting and it wasn’t long into the session when we noticed he’d padlocked the door closed,” Mr Pich explained.

Yep.

“He then proceeded to walk around the room holding a baseball bat, tapping it against his hands, as he told staff they’d failed to meet their quarterly target,” he added.

“He thought he was tough but just looked ridiculous and you could see everyone in the room lose respect for him."

LIPSTICK ON A PIG:

On the other end of the spectrum is the “Lipstick on a Pig” boss, who is simply afraid to give bad news. 

Mr Pich said these types of managers come in numerous forms and can be defined as “outright liars who refuse to say bad things”.

The AIM leader said he experienced a “Lipstick on a Pig” boss while working in a marketing role at a law firm in London. 

He explained that on the first day of the job he discovered that another employee, whom he thought he was replacing, was still employed in the same role.

“On the first day I was informed that someone was in the job that I’d been offered, they just didn’t have the strength to tell that person that they weren’t performing,” Mr Pich said. 

“They tried to dress up bad news and I was then expected to work with this person.”

Not surprising that Mr Pich only lasted three weeks in the job before quitting.

BOSS WITH NO BOUNDARIES

Then there’s the “Boss with no Boundaries”, one which can’t decide whether he wants to be a leader, a friend, or a lover. 

Mr Pich said these type of leaders in particular make for a toxic environment and high staff turnover.

“They’re a boss who has the reputation of doing the wrong thing,” he said.

THE UN-MOTIVATOR

And then, there’s the “un-motivator”.

While working for a global IT company, Mr Pich said he came across a boss who used military analogies to motivate the marketing and sales team.

He said rather than motivating employees it actually had the opposite effect.

“These are the type of bosses who take work far too seriously in the name of motivation,” Mr Pich said.

THE AVOIDER:

Additionally, have you ever felt guilty for using the company credit card for something you probably shouldn’t?

While Mr Pich was working as a HR manager he had to deal with disciplinary issues quite a lot, but this one tops the list.

“The worst example of management I’ve come across is when the boss avoids being the manager,” he said.

“I call this “The Avoider” and this kind of person causes absolute chaos because they provide no rules, guidelines or expectations.”

As a result of this, an employee thought it was okay to take his family on a trip to Disneyland Paris on the company credit card.

“It looks like an employee problem, but was a total ‘non-manager’ issue… we ended up dismissing them both. The employee for misconduct and the manager for allowing it to happen.

So, how do you deal with these types of bosses?

We can be quite certain you’ve stumbled across a manager at some point during your working life who fits one or more of these categories, but often we don’t know what to do when it happens.

Mr Pich explains that staff need to focus on themselves, know their boundaries and own value system.

“Ask yourself, ‘is that acceptable?’ or ‘Can I live with that?’,” he said.

“It’s important you know your boundaries, then communicate and share the experience with a colleague, HR rep or someone outside the organisation.

“Then give clear and concise feedback to your boss.”

Mr Pich highlighted that the most important thing is to not attack your boss but to refer to and draw on your own feelings before coming to an agreement.

And his final tip? 

Get a mentor.

Mr Pich currently has two mentors who he liaises with on a regular basis. They offer him support as well as bouncing ideas off each other.

“They can help set boundaries as well as work toward overcoming difficult workplace bosses,” he said.

“Issues with manager are very common issues and people would do well to deal with the issues early because these issues can fester and they can cause mental health issues early, work out strategy.”