Manager styles are varied and what works at one organization may fail miserably in another.  But when does a manager’s behavior cross a line?  As Steve Jobs once said “…if something sucks, I tell people to their face. It’s my job to be honest.”  Steve Jobs is considered one of the great American business leaders.  Robert Bies, professor of management at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, reflects on Jobs in his recent book on leadership, “Leaders are complex figures sending multiple signals at the same time. With Jobs, there is plenty of evidence of abuse. But you can see that he’s a motivator. He was pushing the envelope for excellence in products.”  Was he a bully or motivator?

Vince Lombardi, Bela Karolyi, and Martha Stewart are also identified as heavy headed leaders by Bies in his book, “High Performance Work Practices or Abusive Supervision: Where is the Boundary?”  He states that “they have a ‘brand’ of yelling, but they also have received accolades for producing high-performing teams and/or successful protégés.  Indeed, they are often viewed as heroic figures because they inspire people to achieve great feats. In other words, they are viewed as ‘master motivators.’ ”

In fact, Bies research suggests that perception overrides reality in most cases.  A boss may be abusive, but if she develops her employees into top individual and team performers, she will be considered favorably among her peers.  It appears to be more about the end result than the journey getting there.  But if the end result goes sour, these types of bosses are quick to be blamed.

For example, Bobby Knight, former head coach of men’s basketball at Indiana University, was known to be aggressive in his leadership style, yet because he produced high-performing teams, his actions were overlooked.   But when the team started losing, incidents like choking one of his players or throwing chairs was viewed as extremely abusive, and he was terminated.

Many forget Steve Jobs first turn at Apple.  When the stock sunk to all-time lows in 1985, he was canned as well.

Other factors that shape opinion include whether the boss is liked by the employees and is sincere in communication, both of which would excuse possibly inexcusable actions by their reports.  For example, when a leader is trusted, employees might say, “She wants to encourage me to perform my best,” rather than, “She wants to intimidate me into complying with unreasonable demands.”

Since perception is key, employees who like their boss regardless of the boss’s actions will lend to the credibility of that boss with others within the organization.  These employees will likely explain away the questionable action of the boss to their peers. 

Yet that boss who may be successful in one setting may fail miserably in another.  In other words, that bosses career development and path may be a limited one. 

Andy Teach, author of “From Graduation to Corporation,” and host of the YouTube channel  “FromGradToCorp,” says there is “a lot of bullying by bosses that goes on in the workplace. It could be by yelling at them if the employee doesn’t please the boss. It could be by constantly threatening them; always telling the employee that their job is at stake. It could be by embarrassing them by constantly criticizing them in front of their co-workers. It could be by putting the employee in an uncomfortable position; giving them an order that puts the employee’s job or reputation in jeopardy. And sometimes bullying can be less obvious. The bullying boss may simply ignore the employee or not include them in meetings anymore.”   At this point, the boss will likely have crossed the line so much so that that boss’ boss, and likely HR, needs to step in. 

Therefore, when a complaint of abuse comes forth, HR needs to investigate and understand the perspective of all parties involved, as well as the social contextual variables that connect them. Second, even if the boss is a highly successful one in the organization, is that behavior really a sustainable one to achieve high performance?  Is it creating a desirable work culture? A complaint may be dismissed by senior leaders because of the boss’ success.  HR needs to intervene at that point and have a frank discussion with management as to the long-term impact of ignoring the complaint, from employee morale to employee turnover. 

There are very few “Steve Jobs” who are long-term successful.  And if Apple stock dropped dramatically again during his second tenure, would he have still been CEO? 

Sources: Psychology Today 7/26/16, Wall Street Journal 8/9/16, Forbes 9/30/13