5 Types of Bad Bosses and How to Escape Their Grip

When I encountered my first truly bad boss, I turned to a mentor for guidance. He offered a piece of wisdom that has stayed with me: there’s something to learn from everyone, even if it’s “what not to do,” “how not to act,” or, as I often remind myself, “what I won’t do when I become a manager.”

As managers, we profoundly influence how people feel about their work and, by extension, their lives. At one end of the spectrum, there’s pride, fulfillment, commitment, and motivation; at the other, there’s failure, frustration, and even fear. It’s crucial to regularly ask ourselves: Is this what we intended? Do we truly understand how we’re making our employees feel?

A bad manager doesn’t just affect our work life—they impact our entire life. UKG research has shown that managers have just as much influence on our mental health as spouses, with 60% of employees stating that their job is the biggest factor affecting their mental health. While good managers help us grow and bring out the best in us, bad managers can jeopardize our careers and even our lives beyond the office.

This sentiment is echoed by recent findings from LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence survey, which found that nearly seven in 10 U.S. workers would leave a job if they had a bad manager. This feeling is even stronger among younger employees: 75% of Gen Z workers and 77% of Millennials say a bad boss would push them to seek new employment, compared to 68% of Gen Xers and 61% of Baby Boomers. It’s clear that the impact of a poor manager spans generations, but it’s particularly potent among those early in their careers, who may be more attuned to the importance of leadership in their professional growth.

Over the years, I’ve compiled a list of behaviors exhibited by bad managers—things I vowed never to do to others. These actions made me feel awful, and I wouldn’t want to inflict those feelings on anyone else. This list, by the way, is my litmus test:

“The manager is always right.”

If a manager is always right—which, of course, isn’t possible—it means they can’t admit failure even when they’re wrong. This type of manager creates a work culture where taking risks is discouraged—just stick to what you’re told, because if you make a mistake, the manager won’t have your back. In this environment, mistakes aren’t tolerated. An extreme example of this was the Volkswagen emissions testing scandal, where the Chairman of VW’s Board of Directors fostered a work culture that led to the fiasco when he told his team, “You have six weeks to get it done (fill in the blank). I have all your names. If I don’t get results, I’ll replace all of you.” This is a reign of terror—a culture where performance is driven by fear and threats. In such an environment, employees may choose actions that delay immediate consequences, even if it leads to bigger problems later on.

Your manager expects you to be just like them

Why? Because it’s comfortable and pleasant to be surrounded by people who think like you—fewer arguments, more flow. But is it effective? I once sat on a management team where one member almost always “disrupted” our meetings. You might recognize this scenario: when everyone in the room has already agreed, this person reopens the discussion, takes us back, and challenges the decision. I asked my manager, the team leader, why he allowed this to happen, and he taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten. “If everyone sees things your way,” he said, “then why do you need a team? Decide everything on your own, based on what you already know.” A good manager understands that the real value of a team lies in what it can contribute that they themselves cannot—different thinking, mutual enrichment, diverse perspectives.

Your manager gives you no coaching

You approach them with questions for input and receive no response. In extreme cases, it’s literally no response—complete disregard. Yes, such things happen. On the other hand, you might get a response, but it’s unhelpful, too general, or vague. Why? Maybe your manager doesn’t know what to say or doesn’t want to tackle the question or decision at hand. Or perhaps they don’t want to make an unpopular decision. I once had such a manager, and to this day, I make it a point to respond to every message I receive, even on social media. I remember how it felt to send an email with a request and be met with silence—silence that I came to recognize as my manager’s way of avoiding dealing with issues.

Your manager likes to hoard information

Some managers enjoy being in control, hoarding information as a form of leverage. I had a manager who liked knowing more and made sure I knew that he knew more, while withholding that information from me. No, it’s not about competition; it’s a form of control. So, I learned to fend for myself by other means, casting a wide net within the organization to get the information I needed, seeking answers from experienced colleagues or my manager’s peers. And yes, I also started looking for ways to leave that manager…

Your manager takes credit for themselves

They use the word “I” when there are successes, don’t invite you to present the work you’ve done at important meetings, and meet with you to gather information, only to pass it off as their own. This is often referred to as “managing up.” In moderation, there’s nothing inherently wrong with it. Our manager does deserve credit for the work of the team, which includes us—credit as the team’s leader, as the one who enables our work. The problem arises when the manager presents the work as something they initiated, pushed for, or did—even when it’s not true—and fails to give us our due. I was taught not to worry too much about credit; the organization usually knows who’s really doing the work. People like that generally manage to hide only for so long. Eventually, someone will figure out who’s truly behind the results. Here, too, you can cast a wide net within the organization, making sure there are people outside of the manager and the team who are aware of the work—perhaps by seeking their feedback or presenting in broader forums.

To conclude on a positive, enabling note about management, I want to share a TED video with over 4M views where the Israeli conductor, Itay Talgam, compares conducting styles to management styles. His “bad manager” example is a conductor who, though capable of stopping the orchestra’s playing with a mere finger movement, chooses to do so with a threatening hand gesture. His control over the orchestra is rigid, strictly by the book, leaving no room for interpretation or personal expression from each musician. Unsurprisingly, he was eventually asked to resign after receiving a letter signed by all the orchestra members, stating that he wasn’t developing them but merely using them as tools for his own ends. Sound familiar?

But alongside him, Itay presents other conductors we can learn from as managers—those who give minimal signs, allowing orchestra members to take the lead. Instead of instructing, they offer feedback, create the process and conditions so that the music can unfold, and enable the musicians to bring their full professionalism to bear. They allow the musicians to tell the story. They do by not doing. And my favorite part: they spread joy.

These are the managers I want to work for. And these are the figures I aspire to resemble as a manager.