February 7, 2010

Do abusive bosses who are high performers get a pass?

• 6 Comments |
• E-mail |
• Print
• • Share:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

A new study says yes.

According to researchers at the University of Iowa, "supervisors who are productive have a long leash when it comes to bad behavior." In other words, they can beat their chests and berate staff all they want, as long as they're perceived as extremely effective at their job and invaluable to the company.

Unlike most studies on bad bosses, this one doesn't focus on what the targets of the abuse think of their socially challenged supervisors. Instead, it's concerned with the perception of bystanders of the abuse.

The study found that as long as an abusive boss is seen as a rainmaker, a mover and shaker, or someone who otherwise gets things done, workplace peers and rank-and-file employees outside the line of fire will still see them as effective. Employees may not want to befriend this abusive colleague or member of management, but they'll accept their tyrannical behavior -- as long as they don't think they're the next target.

It's not all disheartening news though. The study's researchers did find that "people who are more empathetic are less likely to overlook the [abusive] behavior than less empathetic people." In addition, researchers said, these sensitive sorts would even have trouble labeling the cruel boss "effective."

To conduct the study, researchers had participants read a summary of a fictitious CEO depicted as either "a high performer or a low performer" and either "a verbally abusive person or not abusive."

Their findings?

"When asked to rate the CEO, the subjects gave high marks to the productive, high-performing CEO no matter his management style." researchers said. "In contrast, the non-abusive but poorly performing CEO was given low marks as an executive, despite his likeability."

Disturbing, no? Maybe it's time more employers placed a higher premium on whether management plays nice with others instead of just paying attention to how much money they make or save the company.

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com

• 6 Comments |
• E-mail |
• Print
• • Share:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Read more

6 Comments

eBossWatch on February 9, 2010 12:32 PM | Reply

Abusive bosses who are high performers won't get a pass on eBossWatch.com!

P.J. Stiefel on February 10, 2010 3:16 PM | Reply

They absolutely get a pass. They allow unscrupulous behavior to fester in a workplace by people who help them get to the top, only to find out later these people were blatently dishonest. Their ego supercedes honesty, integrity and teamwork because they're so egocentric and usually come from from a different lifestyle than what they're attempting to get to. They're also prone to lying about their own background. Sooner or later they always crash.

Rob on February 12, 2010 1:26 AM | Reply

The bottom line is all that matters these days.

Jennifer on February 12, 2010 5:10 PM | Reply

I worked for a local non-profit and our executive director's last job was for a womens prison. I was at one meeting in which she not only screamed at a fellow staff member but she actually lifted the entire conference table up onto those of us on the other side. The board of directors refused to remove her

Jim on February 21, 2010 7:22 AM | Reply

It's really bad out there. I've seen it all and it ain't pretty - lying, cheating, sabotage, gossip, affairs, lack of empathy, dysfunctional, medicated zombies, harassment, intimidation, alienation, discrimination, the list goes on. And this was all in one office! However, the managers that instigated and/or permitted these types of behavior to happen eventually became entangled in their own web of malice and incompetence. It's just a matter of time.

Paul Townsend on July 13, 2011 1:02 PM | Reply

Verbally abusive bosses are not effective. Any research that says otherwise are ill informed. Verbally abusive bosses destroy morale and lower productivity among their employees due to their unprofessional behavior. Employees must learn to effectively stand up their bosses and set boundaries. The best boss is one who is non abusive but is a shaker and mover. The worst boss is the verbally abusive but highly productive. Next in line is the non abusive low performer. Higher performance is possible with a nonabusive boss who knows how to empower people with encouragement.

Leave a comment

* required field

Your name: *

E-mail address: (Will not be displayed)

Your comment: *

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.