12: Practice Makes Perfect
(EN: In the final chapter, the author presents a few "case studies" that describe a situation to which the principles in this book can be applied: a situation is described and the author asks leading questions to give the reader some suggestion as to what actions a person might take. It's a good learning tool, but contributes no new information to the topic, so there's little to take notes on.)
Case Study #1: The New Boss
The author presents a case study of a worker whose company eliminated a layer of management, and he found himself now directly reporting to a senior manager who was tyrannical: he gave short deadlines, expected people to put in long hours on a regular basis, would seek out minor flaws to discredit his subordinates ideas, and publicly berated them.
No new information or insight - just a presentation of a bad situation, some follow-on questions that should get the reader to referring back to previous chapters to find the answers.
Case Study #2: Tyrant Phrases
The second "case study" is not a case study at all, but a list of specific statements and beliefs that are commonly expressed by tyrants, and the question of "what would your approach be like?" Some of these are likely familiar, and bear specific consideration:
- The tyrant announces, or intimates, that overtime is mandatory and that anyone who refuses to work evenings and weekends is not "a true team player."
- The tyrant regularly cancels vacations and makes it clear that an employee who chooses family over work is making a choice that's detrimental to their career and continued employment.
- Discussions with a tyrant are entirely one-sided: he communicates his decisions and expects subordinates to express agreement, and reacts in a hostile manner to any suggestion he's not absolutely right.
- The tyrant will praise his "people" to his superiors or department outsiders, or will express appreciation in formal situations such as a group meeting, but will treat them like doormats in day-to-day encounters.
- The tyrant expresses that "ethics is overrated" and it gets in the way of doing what is necessary to complete the task at hand
- The tyrant uses the notion of "other duties as required" to saddle his subordinates with tasks that are outside of their area of expertise and training, and then berate or humiliate them for their inability to address them competently.
- The tyrant will likewise hand off responsibilities without the authority or resources to meet them, and likewise suggest that failure is the result of their incompetence.
Case Study #3: Co-Worker Support
This case study presents a situation as if it's being heard of a co-worker and asks "how would you coach" this person.
The specific situation is a worker whom the boss literally caught in the parking lot on the way home, and gave them a task to be done for a meeting that would occur the following morning, such that they had to go back to the office and work until late in the evening to complete it. To add insult to injury, the manager gave her no credit for the work when presenting her report to the department - except when one of her peers pointed out a flaw in one of the conclusions, at which point the manager publicly blamed the employee for the mistake.
(EN: It's interesting to consider how to deal with such a situation, but casting it as a problem someone else is having and asking the reader to tell another person what they ought to do is probably not the best approach, unless the intention is to elicit the response that "coaching" a peer and suggesting what they should do in a situation is generally an unwise practice.)