Managers in the Danger Zone
There is a natural tendency on the part of some people to think that what they do is more important than what others do in an organization. Many of these people are simply egomaniacs who live in a fantasy world of sorts where they are in some way superior to everyone else. We talk a lot about leaving the excess ego at the door when you come to work in the morning. The problem is that it is nearly impossible for these egomaniacs to do that. Some research suggests out of control egos probably stem from some form of insecurity and the individual is likely trying to cover up for that insecurity.
A manager with a big ego and a penchant for flaunting that ego is a dangerous person in any organization. When an ego controls the behavior of a manager, all sorts of trouble tends to follow. Employees and co-workers are generally impacted in some negative manner on an all too frequent basis.
Frankly, employees working for the egomaniac grow tired of the boorish behavior. They are often blamed for problems not created by them and the manager’s communication is often belittling and condescending in nature. Now there’s a recipe for disengagement and reduced productivity!
A little ego is not necessarily a bad thing since it helps with confidence levels. But to allow an ego to run out of control to the point where the manager has to have that ego constantly fed is unacceptable.
People with runaway egos often are in denial about their behavior. They see themselves as tremendous employees or managers with few, if any, faults. The result of this type of attitude is resentment at best. Employees will be less likely to open up to the ego-centric employee and will often try to undermine them or work against them to show them up. Ego can have a devastating effect on team work and productivity.
A manager with a giant ego will often alienate employees. Big egos can lead to lashing out at employees to make a point. And the ego can force managers and owners to make decisions that feed the ego. Those decisions might be good for the individual’s self-image, but bad for the organization in one or more ways.
If you look around your organization, do you see managers with ego issues? What has been done to address those issues? Unfortunately in some cases, the egomaniac is not coached or resists coaching because he has all the answers. In those cases, the likelihood of getting them turned around is not high.
In the context of performance management, 360 degree surveys are a great tool to help highlight core issues for any manager. In the case of the manager with an out of control ego, 360 degree surveys will usually generate a plethora of feedback that can be used for coaching and/or documentation of the problems.
In terms of performance reviews conducted by the egomaniacal manager, competency level and overall ratings tend to be lower. Why? We suspect it is a defense mechanism to push blame for departmental or work unit underperformance back onto the employees. This provides a sort of defense that the manager can point to as if to say, “hey it’s not me, it’s my underperforming employees”.
Needless to say, dealing with these ego-centric managers is critical in any organization. Is your organization the victim of one or more of these egomaniacs?