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Have you ever wanted to kill your boss?

 Go on – answer honestly. Have you?

Hollywood thinks it’s likely, and so has made a film about this very theme – Horrible Bosses – with an all-star cast, including Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and James Foxx.  Three bosses each have unpleasant traits: one is power-made and manipulative (Spacey), another is prone to sexual harassment (interestingly played by a female, Aniston), while the third is anti anyone overweight and/or disabled. Each has an employee who wants them out of the way – you can guess the rest of the film.

Daft script and Hollywood spin aside, there are probably scores of people who’ve wished ill of their boss, if not actually wanted them permanently erased from the planet. We asked around and found a supplier of ours, who used to work in a newsroom, who openly admitted to wanting to kill two of hers over the years. It’s really not an uncommon feeling.

But the blame can’t lie with the employees can it? The feelings can’t be totally unprovoked? Being a boss doesn’t mean you have to win the popularity stakes with everyone – being popular doesn’t necessarily equal being successful. But managers have to act reasonably, fairly communicate their decisions and – above all – listen to the troops, if they aren’t to become a subject of derision.  

• Have too many people moved up the ranks and get a bit power-mad, forgetting their roots..?
• Do those that are helicoptered in to make changes do so with gusto, forgetting who they are trampling on in their wake..?

Hollywood likes to portray extreme stereotypes, it’s what makes their films successful, but the bosses on show here have more than a grain of truth about them, don’t they..?

At Be More Effective we’ve worked with many bosses to help them engage with their staff aligning them with the ambitions of the Company and developed initiatives to enrich the talent across the teams; although not, as far as we’re aware, to get them off their employees’ hit list.

If you think we can help, please get in touch.