Ten Habits of Incompetent Managers

Very well written and perceptive article by Margaret Heffernan ( via http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/career/?p=1068 via Google Reader Rajneesh Garg )

fastcompany.com heffernan 10-signs-incompetent-managers

Quoting Toni Bowers:

I came across a great piece about traits that incompetent managers share. Written by Margaret Heffernan for FastCompany.com, this no-nonsense piece cuts to the chase and is about as true a list as I’ve ever seen.

Read the whole piece. Here are the ten:

1. Image via Wikipedia

   Bias against action
2. Secrecy
3. Over-sensitivity
4. Love of procedure
5. Preference for weak candidates
6. Focus on small tasks
7. Inability to hire former employees
8. Allergy to deadlines
9. Addiction to consultants
10. Long hours

Network of Executive Women Online, speaking about Margaret Heffernan's book The Naked Truth:

For those women who think "you can have it all," comes this contrarian view from business journalist and former technology CEO Margaret Heffernan. Heffernan interviewed more than fifty mostly female executives for this book and it delivers, as the title promises, some hard truths about the work and lives of women executives. Some women think even less of their own capabilities than their male counterparts do and often aim low from the very beginning. Many male executives continue to stereotype women ("geisha," "bitch") and try to hold them down. Toxic bosses and hostile work environments still abound. Sexual harassment, pay discrimination and hostility to the "mommy track" are not everywhere a thing of the past. But Heffernan and her interview subjects (many identified only by pseudonyms) aren't just doom and gloom. They offer real solutions to the challenges women executives face on and off the job. How to increase confidence, build relationships and reputation, create alliances and networks, mentor and be mentored, and avoid the familiar trap, "I'll do it myself."