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Office Inflation: the Boss Who Gives Lots of Praise

October 10, 2008 RSS Feed Print

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Michael Wade

Consider two bosses:

Boss A is reserved, rarely gives praise, demands that people meet production and quality standards, has increasingly high expectations, and gets rid of people who cannot do the job. Boss A will tell you in words of one syllable if there is a problem with your performance. Boss A does not suffer fools gladly but, if you are performing well, you'll be left alone.

Boss B is friendly, gives lots of praise, is flexible on production and vague on quality standards, has comfortable expectations, and rarely fires poor performers. Boss B dislikes confrontation and expects you to read the indirect signals of displeasure if there is a problem with your performance. While Boss B will never make you uneasy, there is a lot of management by crisis.

For whom would you rather work?

The advantage of working for Boss A, of course, is you know where you stand. Moreover, you won't have to shoulder the workload of coworkers who aren't performing because Boss A will either turn them around or fire them. You can take pride in working on a team that produces and you may learn a lot about anticipating and heading off problems. You can be sure that any praise you receive has not been devalued through inflation.

Unfortunately, far too many new supervisors slip into Boss B mode. They equate being demanding with being cruel, unpleasant, or uncaring. They seek an arrangement with the employees in which neither side demands too much from the other. In their quest to be kind, they can create a highly demoralizing environment for those who are looking for challenging and meaningful work.

Strive for a blend, but if you have to pick, go with Boss A.

Michael Wade writes Execupundit.com, an eclectic combination of management advice, observations, and links. A partner with the Phoenix firm of Sanders Wade Rodarte Consulting Inc., he has advised private and public-sector organizations for more than 30 years.

Tags:: careers,; management

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Well, you've grouped both good and bad qualities in both managers, then decided Boss A is better. In fact, Boss A might be a more productive manager, but you have no facts to back your assumptions, other than your own opinion. That you have made composites that mix qualities together only further clouds the actual thinking about which manager is 'better'.
For instance, a Harvard Business Review article from several years ago did a productivity analysis of management styles, and found that the Performance style, the one that fires people if they don't measure up, was significantly less productive, only less so was the Critical manager. The most productive management styles were the Authoritative, Democratic, Affiliative, and Coaching styles. A single article is not sufficient to prove the validity of anything.
A second criticism is that feeling-sensitive management styles are definitely better, it just depends on the group it manages; specifically programming teams might be best managed by people sensitive to emotions, rather than logical-inexpressive types.

James Igoe of NY 10:07AM October 19, 2008

or a necessity?
I always preferred a raise to praise.

HillbillyBill of TN 6:58AM October 12, 2008

If boss A is the owner, fine. He or she probably knows what he or she is doing, and is being honest. Not too many owners do the boss B thing TO EXCESS, because they cannot afford to, and/or would not have attained success if they had done so TO EXCESS. They HAVE to make hard choices.
If you're working for a boss A type who is merely a mid-level hired person, look out.
He or she is probably merely trying to emulate some old military style and such a person can turn unfairly negative on you in a heartbeat. Be wary of an owner who allows others to do the Boss A thing. Such behavior should be reserved for the owner, not the Lieutenant, First Sgt., etc.

of 12:45PM October 10, 2008