HEAD GAMES
Manipulation and insincerity in your strategy to make sure your face is featured on a dartboard somewhere…
Even cranky, heartless supervisors with a drill sergeant approach to management can maintain a modicum of respect, perhaps even the guarded fondness of at least some of their people, because they don’t have to wonder what the boss is really thinking. These managers may be tactless and insensitive, but you never have to doubt their true motives. It’s all out there on the table in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion.
While the above management style rubs most people the wrong way, the opposite tactic is always effective in generating revulsion among the people you manage. People resent few things more than attempts to manipulate them through half-truths, head games, “spin,” propaganda, drama, and strategic misinformation. These tactics are the easy way out compared to direct confrontation, and are the mark of cowards. And everyone is disgusted by a coward.
Here are some great specific tips from my former clients on implementing this tactic to help your people hate you.
Spray Water on ALL the Monkeys
Attempt to control or correct employees by manipulating workplace peer pressure against them. One great technique is to find a way to punish everybody in the department for the mistakes and miss-steps of one. When one employee makes a mistake on some paperwork, call in everyone for a refresher. If you have a confrontation with an employee over something, be cranky and snarky to everyone else for the day. If one person puts up a poster or plaque that you don’t like in their workspace or cubicle, ban plaques and posters from everyone’s personal workspace. This tactic is fundamental to your goal of earning the hatred of your people. You know the old saying… “The firings will continue until morale’ improves!”