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JULY 3, 2006
By Jack and Suzy Welch Are You A Boss-Hater? My wife and I regularly see incompetence, tolerance for stupid decision-making, and outright unprofessionalism at the companies where we work. Why is it so hard to find a manager you can respect, follow, and learn something from? It's not hard. But it does require a certain mindset, one you may have difficulty finding in yourself. If so, you're not alone. Every week we receive several e-mails that sound like yours. The wording and details are different, but the underlying question is always the same: Why am I the only person at my company who gets it? We realize there are days when it can feel as if everyone around you is inept. Companies, after all, are composed of people, and people screw up, reward mediocrity, play politics, and otherwise commit myriad organizational sins. But the "everyone's dumb but me" attitude is dangerous. Not only is it a career-killer, but it's also simply not a realistic perspective on business. How do you explain the thriving, creative financial-services industry? Or the envelope-pushing genius of the life-sciences field? Or the incredible list of new businesses that have sprung from the Internet? Too many companies perform well every day -- returning billions in profits by inventing, making, selling, and distributing millions of products and services -- for every manager out there to be a total nincompoop. That's why we suggest that you reflect on your own gloomy view of the working world. To be direct, we are wondering if you might be a boss-hater. Very few people would ever identify themselves as boss-haters. They usually see themselves as noble victims, speaking truth to power. Forget that line. Boss-haters are a breed. It doesn't matter where they work -- big corporations, family companies, partnerships, nonprofits, newspapers, or government agencies. Boss-haters enter into any authority relationship with barely repressed cynicism and ingrained negativity toward "the system." And even though their reasons may be varied, from upbringing to personality to political bent, boss-haters are unified in their inability to see the value in any person above them in a hierarchy. The boss-haters in any organization tend to find each other, and once in numbers, they usually become quite outspoken. Boss-haters also tend to be on the high-IQ side. That's unfortunate, really. Because instead of using their intelligence to improve the way work is done, boss-haters focus, laser-like, on all of the organization's flaws and the sheer, incomprehensible idiocy of the higher-ups. Of course, because of their intelligence, some boss-haters do get ahead -- briefly. More often, the organization feels their vibe, and bosses respond in kind, with distancing or worse. Now, maybe you're not a boss-hater. But the sweeping nature of your question suggests no shortage of contempt for those at the top. Perhaps, then, you should give yourself a test. Think of a boss you've encountered who didn't have a problem. If you can't, the problem may be something you can fix just by opening up your mind. I have just been hired in a leadership position at a new company. I am tempted to bring along some people from my old organization. We work well together, and they have the skills. Your thoughts? -- Aakash Ganju, Bangalore, India A tempting idea, but a tricky one. The answer is: It depends. If you're running a company that requires a rapid turnaround in a changing environment and you're saddled with an embedded culture of employees in a state of denial, you'd be smart to bring along capable former colleagues. Together, you'll get the work done faster and more smoothly, and, with the camaraderie born of your shared experiences in the past, it will be a lot more fun, too. But if you've been hired to lead a relatively good business that mainly needs a dose of reenergizing, hiring several members of your old team can create a lot of mayhem for very little gain. Nothing is more discouraging to a functioning organization than an imported cabal that repeatedly says: "This is how we did it at our old company." In the worst-case scenario, this dynamic gives rise to a two-class society: the boss's favored insiders and the alienated has-beens. Bottom line: Survey the terrain. Bring in your old team only if you need fast change. If you're not in crisis mode, search out the best of those you've inherited and give them a new sense of purpose. You may miss your former colleagues, but you sure won't miss the havoc they could cause.  Jack and Suzy Welch look forward to answering your questions about business, company, or career challenges. Please e-mail them at thewelchway@BusinessWeek.com For their podcast discussion of this column, go to www.businessweek.com/search/podcasting.htm
BW MALL
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