According to Clate Mask, co-author of Conquer the Chaos, bosses who do these five things are on track to kill their culture.

1. Hiding the numbers
2. Hoarding the decision-making
3. Withholding praise
4. Bottling up the strategy
5. Talking down to employees

In fact, all five aren’t necessary; any one of them can mortally wound your culture.

Over the years I’ve heard probably every justification for these, and similar, actions, but the MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) involved is the same.

The basis of a great culture is found in the boss’ philosophy about employees.

If she believes that people are intelligent, motivated and honestly want their company to succeed and hires accordingly, then the above actions make no sense.

If, however, she believes that people are stupid, lazy and don’t care those same actions become logical.

It is the wise boss who knows to look in the mirror before doing stuff to her people that she wouldn’t allow to be done to herself.

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Do you like proverbs? I do, not the religious kind, but what the Encyclopedia Britannica describes as “succinct and pithy sayings that are in general use and express commonly held ideas and beliefs.” So I thought I’d share some of the lesser known ones every now and then.

It is said that a drop of ink may make a million think, but these days it sometimes feels as if the drops that stimulate are on the wane. Or maybe it’s just that so much that is written fits what a friend calls ‘institutionalized inanity’.

A person who can smile when things go wrong has found someone to blame it on is one thing that hasn’t changed and can frequently be seen in news casts, the workplace, and most other settings.

Speaking of work, here are two descriptions of the kind of boss who is guaranteed to spend a great deal of time hiring. To wit, a man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds and a man that breaks his word bids other be false to him.

Whereas a boss who cares know that a handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains and will spend far more time mentoring people than replacing them.

Then there are those folks that we all put up with; you know, the ones that know nothing, but talk constantly. This proverb describes them perfectly, a fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions. And just in case this shoe occasionally fits you, try and avoid putting it on very often.

Finally, considering the effect bankers have had on our poor world, I couldn’t resist including this definition, a banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain. Oh, so true.

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Is the picture true? Do people need bosses?

A study about the value of middle management and what happens when it is significantly improved focused on manufacturing in India, but the bottom line, and what is universal, is that good managers and management practices can raise productivity in any situation.

But do highly educated knowledge workers need bosses as much as unskilled factory workers or could they produce the same results on their own?

Let’s make this very personal.

Think about the differences you found when working for a good boss and for a bad one—even if the relativity was more like good/great, bad/worse, or the most common, OK/so-so.

Think about how you felt when the alarm went off; did you look forward to your destination or shrink from it?

During the day did you feel part of a productive team; one that was making a difference and helping the company accomplish its goals or did it feel dysfunctional, untrustworthy, with everyone faking it?

Did you end the work day with a feeling of accomplishment and good mental attitude that you could share with family and friends or did you go home, slam the door and yell at the humans or animals that greeted you?

Trace those feelings back to the management actions and attitudes that fostered them.

Now you know what to do and not do yourself and which to do more of or eliminate.

No question that people need bosses, but what they really need are good to great bosses—and with a little effort you can be one.

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Today’s offering includes three fascinating examples of lousy leadership at work, two explanations of the worst traits of lousy leadership and a review of a remedial book for lousy leaders.

The first example of lousy leadership is personally embarrassing, not because it’s about me, but because in January 2008 and again in April I lauded this lousy leader for creating a great culture. Little did I know. The lousy leader is Sam Zell and his hand-picked executive Randy Michaels, now CEO, created a culture that rivals or exceeds anything you’ve heard about on Wall Street.

Randy Michaels, a new top executive, ran into several other senior colleagues at the InterContinental Hotel… After Mr. Michaels arrived, according to two people at the bar that night, he sat down and said, “watch this,” and offered the waitress $100 to show him her breasts.

And it went downhill from there.

Next we have a pair of lousy leader brothers, Sam and Charles Wyly, who have avoided paying taxes on hundreds of millions of dollars by using trusts and tax haven-based shell corporations. And these two Texas swashbucklers are sure that the upcoming election will see an end to their problems.

“I think it’s good politics to beat up on big companies and rich people,” said Sam Wyly. Soon, he said, “the election will be over, and this will be forgotten about, or lost, be shut down, be gone, will be nothing.”

The third is Goldman Sachs, a company stuffed with lots of lousy leaders. Not another article, but a recommendation to watch CNBC’s Goldman Sachs: Power and Peril when it repeats October 26 at 8pm ET in case you missed it last Sunday.

Greed is a constant hallmark of lousy leaders. According to Andrew Lo, an MIT professor who researches the relationship between neuroscience and economics, greed actually has a chemical basis.

“When a person acquires resources, chemicals are released in the brain that cause the sensation of pleasure. Greed is simply the addiction to that release.”

Can corporate culture turn good leaders into lousy leaders?

Organizations have more power to direct employee ethical behavior of than we previously knew.

That’s the bottom line of new research from the University of Washington Foster School of Business that demonstrates, for the first time, the relationship between moral intuition—a reflexive perception of what is right and wrong—and moral behavior.

Finally, the perfect gift for lousy leaders—a copy of Marshall Goldsmith’s new book, Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, and How to Get It Back If You Lose It

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I have said in the past that, based on my experience, the workforce breaks down into three segments.

• • • At the top you have the 10% who succeed on their own no matter what;
    • at the other end are the 3% I call destroyers—because that’s how they get their kicks; the other
    • 87% are neither stars nor destroyers on their own, but can become either based on the way they are managed.

Hold that thought.

I recently read about a large cat that mimics its prey as part of its mealtime strategy.

And then Dr. Calleia saw, to his astonishment, that the cries weren’t coming from a tamarin pup, but rather from a margay, an ocelotlike cat with large eyes, large paws and a large appetite for monkey meat.

Back to the thought you are holding.

The action of the margay reminded me how some destroyers (see above) will mimic good management or team attitudes to attract their pray.

But how can you tell? Work is difficult enough without wondering if your team members or managers are part of the 3%.

It’s not as difficult as you might think, because you can feel them.

Destroyers feel hollow, the same difference between tapping a wall on the stud vs. on the sheetrock. The difference is that you feel with all five senses, not just your ears.

You pick up on a delay factor—their smiles don’t hit their lips and eyes at the same time, laughter is always a second or two late, as are their congratulations.

Most of us have met destroyers at some point in your life, whether at work or elsewhere.

You don’t have to focus on looking for these signs, you just need to be open to your feelings and not ignore them when they happen.

You may get an occasional false positive, but that’s better than ignoring your feelings and getting walloped.

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A reader, “John,” emailed me with a question and suggested that I respond in the blog, because he felt that the information would be useful to everyone and I agree.

Miki, like many people these days I was laid off and have had a lot of trouble finding work. I finally interviewed and they have told me that I’ll be receiving an offer next week.

It should be terrific, but I’m very concerned about the manager I’ll be reporting to. I was in the department for most of a day and never saw anyone smile or joke with a colleague; people seemed to be tip-toeing around and trying their best to avoid this person.

The interview included conversations with three other people, one in the same group and the other two are people I’d be interfacing with. None of them would discuss the hiring manager, not a word and the internal guy practically freaked when I asked him what the manager was like to work with.

I know that beggars can’t be choosers, but I’m really concerned. I don’t want to accept and then quit a few months later. I have enough savings to hold out for awhile longer, but have no idea what else might open up.

I remember something you wrote a long time ago that a person can’t be miserable for 8+ hours a day and then come home and be fine.

So, what do you think?

John remembered correctly, 20+ years of experience has proven to me that people aren’t water faucets—they can’t be miserable in half their life, turn off the feelings and be happy in the other half.

Under normal circumstances, including a normal recession, I’d suggest waiting, but there is nothing normal about what is going on.

The great advantage that John has if he decides to accept the offer is that he is knows something is wrong, knows there is fear in the air, knows the hiring manager is the likely source.

Knowing all that, John is in the position of being able to build protective barriers around his psyche before he comes under fire.

He needs to discuss it with his wife and explain to his close family and closest friends; doing so ahead of time alerts them that he may be in very difficult situation and need extra support. It’s important to have the conversations now, not when he’s inside and under attack.

In doing all this, John needs to be very careful not to turn it into a case of assumptions and self-fulfilling prophecy.

In short, John needs to hope and strive for the best, but prepare for the worst.

It’s always best to avoid a toxic boss and to leave one as quickly as possible, but desperate times call for unusual actions and a lot more preparation.

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