commentary There is no debating, a good boss can either make or break you.
Telstra ended months of rumour and innuendo when Solomon Trujillo was named new chief executive on 9 June.
The search for Dr Ziggy Switkowski's replacement had finally ended; executives, shareholders, and employees could finally breathe a sigh of relief -- one big hurdle towards full privatisation was overcome.
| Some bosses are generous with compliments... [others] never utter a word of thanks or show gratitude. |
"We had to pay a competitive package in order to secure the best person for the job. This is absolutely in the interest of shareholders."
That person was impossible to find within Telstra's own executive ranks, McGauchie revealed. Inadvertently, or otherwise, he let slip his true feelings on the calibre of talent within the nation's largest telco.
He was clearly unimpressed by the company's internal succession planning capabilities -- which requires much work in future. OK, so this wasn't an attempt to publicly humiliate the remaining executives but still, McGauchie's comments can be interpreted in a few ways: that Switkowski did a poor job at ensuring a proper successor(s) was in place, or that the abilities of internal candidates were not up to scratch.
It could also have been a signal to these executives that Trujillo has free rein to build his own team -- without inheriting any baggage from his predecessor.
One can only wonder if the existing executive team will be retained, especially after McGauchie's comments. After all, the 53-year-old American will need the full support of his team as he leads Telstra into the world of full privatisation. The question on everyone's lips now is "will everyone play ball?".
Telstra's McGauchie and his tendency not to mince words got me thinking of the different management styles that exist in corporate Australia or the world for that matter.
Some bosses are generous with compliments, sincerely heaping praise on their subordinates when a job is well done. There are also bosses who never utter a word of thanks or show gratitude.
Others give compliments so they, in turn, can look good to their bosses and peers -- yes, it's an art that only the talented few have mastered.
Here are a few more boss species:
- The spineless soul -- This manager never speaks up for his subordinates and constantly bends over backwards to please his boss.
- The parrot -- Managers who have no ideas, thoughts, or comments of their own and tend to simply repeat what their bosses have said.
- The smiling assassin -- These managers pretend to be your best friend only to stab your in the back every chance that comes along.
- The slacker -- One who is apt at pretending to be busy all the time to avoid doing work. Also known to be very skillful at "flying under the radar" when it comes to crunch time.
- The taskmaster -- Worse than a drill sergeant, this person rules with an iron fist. They want to know your every move and become agitated if you're away from the desk for five minutes.
- The dictator -- Insecurity is the name of the game here. Employees receive the evil eye if they're caught speaking to colleagues from other departments. This manager always believes people are talking about him. Yes, the world does revolve around one person.
Fran Foo is ZDNet Australia managing editor and contributing editor of T&B. Write in to edit@zdnet.com.au and share your thoughts.
This article was first published in Technology & Business magazine.
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Hi Fran,
I thought you might like to hear about two styles of boss that you didn't mention - the frustrated engineer, and the bewildered technician.
The frustrated engineer:
I have had the considerable misfortune to have worked for two such managers, and they can be fairly easily predicted and understood. However, working with them is no easier for that understanding...
The frustrated engineer is a person whose technical genius led to a business mushrooming under them. As a result, they get forced to employ people, and to take on the role of manager. In this role of manager, they are doing all the management things - looking after employees, lots of paperwork - all the sorts of things that any self-respecting engineer wants nothing to do with.
...oh, and is not particularly good at.
Thus, he has to perform a job he knows little about (and has little interest in learning) while all these plebs that he has been forced to employ get to do what he would desperately love to be doing.
This leads to several rather bad behaviours.
1. Sticking his finger into projects (because they can't possibly be as clever as he)
2. Resenting his workers (because they are having the fun that he wants to have)
3. Micro-managing (because he knows the best way of doing this)
4. Being extremely impersonal to his staff (because he never was a people person)
The sad part is that very few are willing to do what he should here - employ a manager and work as an engineer in his own company (because he doesn't trust someone else with his money).
The bewildered technician:
I have worked with one person of this type and the experience was very frustrating.
The basic mechanism for the development of this type of manager is as follows.
Technical company (typically service industry, such as TV repairs, etc.) branches out into a project related to the industry in which they work. They quickly discover that they need some computer programming and figure that it is easier to employ a programmer than to learn the skills themself (although they may initially attempt it).
Programmer is employed and is answerable to the service manager - whose idea the project was in the first place (we are dealing with small companies here...)
Computer programming, of course, is a work skill that involves lots of planning, considerably amounts of thinking and them short bursts of insane levels of activity. Therefore, the majority of the time is spent sitting very still and scribbling on bits of paper.
Service managers, of course, are used to seeing people moving and doing lots when they are actually working, and sitting still and doodling when they are doing nothing.
I won't bother to explain the obvious...