Archive for the ‘Independent National Studies’ Category
National Boss Day in L.A.: Tell Your Tales
13October 2009
For National Boss Day, I’ll be conducting person-on-the-street interviews with office workers in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 15th and Friday, October 16th, on the busy Third Street Promenade at the corner of Wilshire and 3rd in Santa Monica. If you live in the Southland, please join us and share your insights, good and bad, on bosses and work.
Videos of these testimonials, along with the backdrop of our famed TOT: a tall, life-size TOT-boss icon from Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT), will be posted online at various sites, including www.TameYourTOT.com.
On National Boss Day, each October 16th, millions of employees thank their bosses for their leadership and bigheartedness. Due to the current recession and tough job market, this year provides a unique opportunity for workers and managers to have a useful dialog about more productive interpersonal relations in the office during uncertain times.
The current environment has exacerbated bad boss behaviors, turning normally even-tempered bosses into Terrible Office Tyrants™, or TOTs. As you may know, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT); How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons), talks about “parenting” unruly managers who resemble tots in their “Terrible Twos.” For managers, it addresses how to create a “safe for success, humanized workplace,” that is TOT-free.
TOT Boss Icon to Make Premier Public Debut
On both days, a 6’ 5” Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) featured on the book cover will be present. The overgrown tyke, angry yet fearful with a large pacifier in his mouth - is designed to illustrate that behind the tough exterior of many bosses is often a toddler who has trouble modulating power. That’s because TOT episodes can be a human condition if not kept in check, whether we’re two or 52.
Event Coincides with New Boss Research
The on-the-street interviews on National Boss Day coincide with the release of Lynn Taylor Consulting’s (LTC’s) new national study on bad and childish boss behavior. Conducted by an independent global research firm and commissioned by LTC, the national five-year comparative study of boss behaviors found at TameYourTOT.com under “Survey Findings,” revealed increases of up to 50% in such childish traits as self-oriented, impulsiveness and stubbornness.
Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT) represents seven years of research, interviews and my insights on dealing with frustrating managerial and workplace situations while thriving in one’s job. It covers 20 of the most common behaviors by chapter, from the “bratty” to “little lost lamb” traits – including overly demanding, stubborn, tantrum-throwing, to moody, fickle and whiny behavior, to name a few – featuring true anecdotes and tips. There is also a special section for CEOs who want to mitigate harmful Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behavior, and throughout the book, bosses gain insight on what not to do with their teams.
Managing up requires awareness of core human instincts, while at the same time setting limits as you would with a child, minus the patronizing. While this is a serious subject, I strongly believe that humor is the shortest pipeline to the memory banks. If I don’t see you later this week, I hope you have a GOOD Boss Day.
New Survey Shows Bad Boss Behaviors Are On The Rise
12October 2009
A new survey commissioned by my firm, Lynn Taylor Consulting, finds that bad boss behaviors are on the rise. The five-year, national comparative study looked at bad boss (a.k.a. TOT) traits and childish behavior, such as Stubborn, Self-oriented, Overly demanding, Impulsive, Interruptive and Tantrum-throwing, and found bad boss behaviors rose by 50 percent!
The study, which was conducted from 2004 to 2009, found that “Self-oriented” catapulted to the lead in 2009, swapping places with “Stubborn” in 2004. This means that some bosses are more self-consumed than ever! The survey also found that seven in 10 Americans believe bosses and toddlers with too much power act alike. As I mentioned in BusinessWeek, we are all human and behind your boss’s professional façade is a grown kid who acts out and can’t moderate his or her power.
As I said on Fox news, TOT behaviors can be managed by employees. The whole point of TOT taming is to “manage up” — not to get revenge on your boss, or to fight fire with fire.
My book Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons) identifies 20 types of bad boss traits and offers concrete solutions to both employees and managers to tame bosses who are acting like misbehaving kids. To order go to Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Borders.
If you’ve got TOT stories or thoughts on humanizing the workplace, please share your story through my sites or at any of the articles on the home page of TameTourTOT.com. You can also follow me on Twitter.com: @workplaceexpert for my thoughts on boss and leadership matters.
Employee “Stress Tests”: Invest Now in Human Capital
12May 2009
The recent banking Stress Tests just revealed that an infusion of $74.6 billion in capital will be necessary for banks to withstand the recession. Shrewd managers might be well advised to follow suit with their employees and conduct a “stress test” of their own.
The goal? To similarly determine how their staff is withstanding the recession, the downsized workforce and the oversized workload. I can’t think of a better way to “invest” – only it’s investing in invaluable human – not banking capital.
Performing a “wellbeing audit” of employees is not a costly, timely or complex proposition. By proactively checking in with your team, keeping an “open door” policy, being a good listener, and letting the team know that it’s okay to make mistakes, you’re off to a very good start. A humanized workplace versus a sanitized workplace is a lot more enjoyable for everyone.
Recently, in the Society for Human Resource Management’s publication, SHRM Online, we explained why it makes good business sense to reach out to your team, especially during difficult times. The alternative is fear and mistrust – an environment that encourages what I call Terrible Office Tyrants™ (TOTs).
From a future recruiting standpoint, when we’re in recovery mode, every resume will become a valued commodity. Employees (and customers) have long memories, and in every industry there are key players that somehow make the field very small: good to remember if you’re in a recruiting capacity.
Imagine a workplace that becomes so “efficient” and de-humanized that you walk past the conference room and witness an apparition of robotic staff winding up with: “LOL”, “Well, IMHO…”, “K”. You walk down the hall, and a colleague apologetically bumps into you, gasping, “OMG!” (P.S. Did you read that as letters or three words?) Let’s hope for a more humanistic style of management before this happens!
National studies commissioned by Lynn Taylor Consulting suggest that the recession has created a lot of pent up tension from overworked staff – which will hopefully ratchet down soon. When the rebound occurs, employees will be sure to seek those environments that invest the most in collaboration and human capital. Will that be yours?
