Good Boss, Bad Boss
How to Be the Best ... And Learn from the Worst
By: Robert I. Sutton PhD
Published: September 7, 2010
"Bosses matter. Bosses matter because most employees have bosses, are
bosses, or play both roles", writes Professor of Management Science at
Stanford University, Robert Sutton in his well researched and landmark
book Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best ... And Learn from the
Worst. The author describes in detail, what makes a good boss or a bad
boss, and how to become a great boss while avoiding the bad ones.
Robert Sutton begins with the premise that bosses want to be good ones, to
achieve success, and to motivate their employees to accomplish their goals
successfully. For the author, bosses really matter to their employees'
success and their health, but they also are critical to the overall success of
the organization. Robert Sutton demonstrates that the mindset of the best bosses is to achieve positive
action for themselves, their employees, and their organization. The author lists the five common traits of
great bosses:
* Walking the fine line of being constructive
* Continue to work toward achieving goals even against adversity
* Seek small continual wins and the reaching of mile stone goals
* Do not undermine their employees performance and dignity
* Protect and fight for the best interests of their staff
Robert I. Sutton recognizes that a boss must be in charge, and indeed believe that to actually be the case.
At the same time, however, a boss is not all powerful and often have a limited impact on decisions. Despite
these limitations, employees will credit or blame the boss for either positive or negative outcomes. Since
this is the reality of a boss's life, the author suggests using this ambivalence to best advantage. Robert
Sutton recommends that bosses act as if they are in control of the situation, even if such is not the case. By
utilizing this technique over time, it ceases to be a deception, and becomes a way of acting. Belief, writes
the author, follows behavior. To achieve this change in mindset and becoming a good boss, the author
suggests:
* Fueling the reality and illusion of control
* Be decisive - Say Yes or No
* Give and get credit
* Accept blame for failures
For me, the power of the book is how Robert Sutton provides proven advice for becoming a good boss based
on extensive research. While much of what the author suggests may be construed as common sense, the
concepts go much more deeply into how bosses think and behave. The book spells out what good bosses
need to do each day to accomplish their goals, and to help their employees achieve success. packed with
real world tested techniques.
The author provides a blueprint for not only becoming a great boss, but also how to avoid the pitfalls that
can turn a good person into a bad boss. packed with case studies, and a complete review of the literature,
Robert Sutton shines a spotlight on the best boss behavior, and how to internalize those best practices as
part of the boss's way of thinking and acting. A key point presented in the book is how to transform even a
smart boss into a wise boss, creating an even better boss. The author correctly recognizes that becoming a
great boss is an ongoing process that is one of continuous learning and improvement, and of enhancing the
best behaviors and adding new skills as well.
I highly recommend the insightful and must read book Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best ... And
Learn from the Worst by Robert Sutton, to anyone seeking a results oriented and readily applicable guide to
becoming a great boss in any organization. This book will turn any ordinary boss to a good one, and
transform a good boos into a great one, while avoiding the behaviors that mark one as a bad boss.
Read the destined to become classic book Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best ... And Learn from the
Worst by Robert Sutton, and become the boss you always wanted to work for and to become yourself. Your
own productivity will increase, your staff will be more engaged and accomplish more, and your organization
will benefit with higher profits as well.
http://blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/2010/09/
Book Review-Good Boss, Bad Boss
Posted by Steve Nguyen in Organizational Psychology, Occupational Health Psychology, Training &
Development, Attitudes & Emotions, Teams, Leadership, Stress, Incivility, Happy & Unhappy, Meaningful
Work, Coaching Psychology
http://workplacepsychology.net/2010/08/13/book-review-good-boss-bad-boss/
In an email exchange, Professor Robert I. Sutton (author of the highly acclaimed book, “The No Asshole Rule”)
asked me if I was interested in seeing a “galley” of his upcoming book, “Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the
Best… and Learn from the Worst” (due out September 2010). According to Dr. Sutton, “galleys” are
“essentially cheap paperback versions of the book that usually have a few typos and may need a little more
editing” sent as advanced copies “to the press and other opinion leaders.” I responded that I’m eagerly
anticipating the arrival of his book and would love to have an advance copy.
I am a fan of Dr. Robert Sutton. I follow his blog, Work Matters regularly and enjoy his writing style. Because
I’m fascinated by workplace psychology (I write the WorkplacePsychology.Net blog), I am always interested in
articles and books that have a good mixture of research and practical writing and applications. In other words,
cut through the bull and tell me what I need to know and make sure that what I need to know is backed by
evidence and research. Last year, a book I read (“The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging Your
Business and What to Do About It” by Christine Pearson and Christine Porath) met this practical application +
evidence-based criteria.
Here’s a little history for those not familiar with Dr. Sutton’s previous book. “The No Asshole Rule” is about
the harm done by jerks or assholes in the workplace and what to do to survive working with or for an asshole
and how organizations can get rid of or better yet, screen these individuals out before hiring them in the first
place. As he explained, while words like bullies, jerks, creeps, tyrants, etc. could have been used, the word
“asshole best captures the fear and loathing I have for these nasty people” (Sutton, 2007, p. 1).
Ok, let’s move on to “Good Boss, Bad Boss.”
Dr. Sutton says that as more people shared with him their asshole stories, about working and dealing with
assholes (as a result of reading or hearing about “The No Asshole Rule”), he realized that everything came back
to one central figure — the boss. It was from the countless workplace asshole stories and the desire to share
how to be a skilled boss or how to work for one that led Dr. Sutton to write “Good Boss, Bad Boss.”
The book cites a University of Florida study that found employees with abusive bosses were much more likely
than others to slow down or make errors on purpose (30% vs. 6%) [the technical term for this is
“counterproductive work behavior”]. When you purposefully slow down your work, it’s called production
deviance. Employees with abusive bosses also hide from their bosses (27% vs. 4%), not put in maximum effort
(33% vs. 9%), and feign being sick (29% vs. 4%).
“Good Boss, Bad Boss” is about the best bosses and what they do. It’s not about incompetent or even mediocre
bosses. As Dr. Sutton puts it, it doesn’t matter if you’re a boss whose team brought in the highest sales number
or a principal of an award-winning school, if you treat people badly, you don’t deserve to be called a great boss.
Good bosses need to have the right mindsets by embracing five beliefs:
(1) Following Lasorda’s Law? Finding the balance between over-managing (or micromanaging) and undermanaging. Good bosses understand when to exert more control vs. when to back off, and when to coach vs.
when to discipline.
(2) Got Grit? Good bosses think of managing in terms of a marathon, not like a sprint. Effective bosses can
communicate a sense of urgency without treating things like one long emergency.
(3) Small Wins? Having long-term goals is important, but good bosses also know that the day-to-day efforts
and small accomplishments also matter. The best bosses are those who can break down problems into bite-size,
achievable pieces for their employees.
(4) Beware the Toxic Tandem? The Toxic Tandem is made up of the boss’s obliviousness (to what their
employees need, say, and do) and self-centered ways and the idea that followers closely watch their boss’s
words and actions.
(5) Got Their Backs? Good bosses protect and fight for their employees. These bosses take the heat (from
upper management) when their employees screw up.
Good bosses have their fingers (and ears) on the pulse of what their employees are thinking, feeling, and acting.
These bosses know that to be successful they have to spend time and energy to reading and responding to
employees’ feelings and actions. Good bosses also possess self-awareness, being highly aware of their strengths
and weaknesses while striving to overcome pitfalls that may sabotage their performance.
“Good Boss, Bad Boss” warns that there is no panacea. There is no magic formula to what makes a good boss,
and anyone who “promises you an easy or instant pathway to success is either ignorant or dishonest — or both,”
says Dr. Sutton.
“Good Boss, Bad Boss” ends by asking and suggesting the audience think about two questions. These two
questions should be something good bosses focus on daily:
(1) Would people want to work for you and would they choose to work for you again if given a choice?
(2) Are you in tune with what it feels like to work for you?
Summary: “Good Boss, Bad Boss” is an insightful and well-researched book. Following in the footsteps set by
The No Asshole Rule, “Good Boss, Bad Boss” delivers a knock-out punch to those asshole bosses whose
cluelessness continues to harm both their employees and the overall organization. Using the power of
storytelling, Robert Sutton masterfully weaves together research and stories about good and bad bosses and
behaviors in the workplace that led to their successes and failures. If you want a magic pill or quick solutions on
how to be a great boss and avoid being a bad one, this is not the book for you. However, if you value the power
of insight and self-awareness as part of an on-going process toward becoming a great boss, then you’ll love
“Good Boss, Bad Boss.”
Chapter Summary:
1. Setting the Stage: The Right Mindset
2. What the best bosses do: Take Control
3. Strive to be wise
4. Stars and Rotten Apples
5. Link Talk and Action
6. Serve as a Human Shield
7. Don’t Shirk the Dirty Work
8. Squelch your Inner Bosshole
9. The Upshot: It’s all about you
good-boss-bad-boss-by-robert-sutton.html