Good Boss, Bad Boss Quotes

“Great bosses avoid burdening their people. They invent, borrow, and implement ways to reduce the mental and emotional load they heap on followers.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best...And Learn from the Worst

“[D]oing management work requires dozens -sometimes hundreds - of brief and fragmented tasks each day.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best...And Learn from the Worst

“Bosses of the most productive work groups confronted problems directly and quickly...And quickly move on to more crucial chores.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best...And Learn from the Worst

“[T]he best bosses master the fine art of emotional detachment. They learn to forgive people who lash out at them... and they learn to forgive themselves, too.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best...And Learn from the Worst

“The possible answers were: 1 = de-energizing; 2 = no effect/neutral; or 3 = energizing. The colleagues in their team or business were then listed, and each was rated by every coworker. Rob and his fellow researchers were stunned by how strongly this “energy” question predicted performance evaluations and promotions, and whether people stayed with or left an organization.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“When people (regardless of personality) wield power, their ability to lord it over others causes them to (1) become more focused on their own needs and wants; (2) become less focused on others’ needs, wants, and actions; and (3) act as if written and unwritten rules others are expected to follow don’t apply to them”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“All bosses can be more effective when they work with, rather than against, the peer culture. Bosses who are known as fair and consistent will get more support from the peer culture when they do their dirty work. Research on punishment shows that coworkers often believe that offenders are let off too easily by bosses – especially when they have violated the rules consistently, shown little remorse, and a fair process was used to convict and punish the wrongdoer. In the best workplaces, bosses and their charges agree on what is right and wrong, and peers – not the boss – dish out punishment. Research on employee theft shows that ridicule, ostracism, and nasty gossip by peers is 250 percent more effective for deterring stealing than formal punishment by supervisors.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Research on control has been conducted under many different banners – self-efficacy, autonomy, helplessness, empowerment, and, of course, small wins. The jargon varies, but study after study shows that when people experience some control over their lives, they enjoy better physical and mental health. Even when people can’t control their ultimate fates, their well-being improves when they can influence some aspects of their lives. For bosses, this means your dirty work will do less harm if you can give people some control over when and how bad things happen to them.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“The best bosses let the workers do their work. They protect their people from red tape, meddlesome executives, nosy visitors, unnecessary meetings, and a host of other insults, intrusions and time wasters. The notion that management ‘buffers’ the core work of the organization from uncertainty and external perturbations is an old theme in organization theory. A good boss takes pride in serving as a human shield, absorbing and deflecting heat from superiors and customers, doing all manner of boring and silly tasks, and battling back against every idiot and slight that makes life unfair or harder than necessary on his or her charges.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Another misguided trick bosses use to demonstrate their brilliance – at least to themselves – is to develop incomprehensible strategies. Unfortunately, if your people can’t understand your strategy, they can’t figure out what to do. And, even if they can comprehend the twists and turns, the complexity can scatter their attention in so many directions that they won’t do any single thing well.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Smart talkers have considerable incentive for saying things that are incomprehensible. Unfortunately, people who spew out incomprehensible ‘jargon monoxide’* are rated as smarter than those who use simple words – especially when they are renowned for their expertise. This attribution even occurs when people use unintelligible language to mask meaningless and useless ideas. So beware that when people seem so smart that you can’t understand a word they say, these pretenders may have learned that blasting out jargon monoxide is the best way to get ahead and mask their incompetence at the same time.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Every boss can’t have deep knowledge of every follower’s expertise. When that happens, a boss’s job is to ask good questions, listen, defer to those with greater expertise, and, above all, to accept his or her own ignorance. Those who fail to do so risk making bad decisions and ruining their reputations.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Confirmation bias can cause bosses to make excessively glowing judgments about people they have invested a lot of time and money in or who they simply find to be likable or admirable. Even if your judgment is generally sound, confirmation bias can blind you to mediocre or even downright rotten performance displayed by your favorites.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Energizers’ aren’t necessarily charismatic and bubbly; on the surface, many are understated and rather shy. But all create energy via optimism about the possibilities ahead, fully engaging the person right in front of them right now, valuing others’ ideas, and helping people feel as if they are making progress.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“In short, if you are a boss, ask yourself: ‘Who have I anointed as stars?’ Think of your workplace more broadly and ask, ‘Do we anoint people who bolster or bring down others’ performance and humanity?”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Who Are Your Stars? That is the first question I ask when a boss has performance problems, is plagued by caustic conflict, or is losing good people at an alarming rate. I want to know if the anointed stars enhance or undermine others’ performance and humanity. Unfortunately, too many bosses have such blind faith in solo superstars and unbridled competition that they hire egomaniacs and install pay and promotion systems that reward selfish creeps who don’t give a damn about their colleagues. Or, even worse, they shower kudos and cash on credit hogs and backstabbers who get ahead by knocking others down. As”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Good bosses also know the wrong times to fight. Tearing apart a newborn idea can kill it before it develops enough to be judged. That is why skilled group brainstorming leaders forbid premature criticism. Argument and criticism are equally destructive once a team has decided which ideas to discard and which to keep and use. After a decision is made, whining on and on that your brilliant idea was superior to the idiotic final choice is risky because it saps everyone’s energy for developing and implementing the winning ideas.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“THE ATTITUDE OF WISDOM Smart Versus Wise Bosses Smart Bosses: Have the confidence to act on what they know, but feel and express little doubt (in public or private) about what they believe or do Actions Make definitive statements Answer questions Talk well Give help, but don’t ask for help and refuse it when offered Defend and stick to current course of action – have strong opinions that are strongly held Wise Bosses: Have the confidence to act on what they know and the humility to doubt their knowledge Actions Make statements (often ‘backstage’) that reveal uncertainty and confusion Ask questions Listen well Give help, ask for help, and accept it when offered Challenge and often revise courses of action – have strong opinions that are weakly held”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Refusal to accept blame, pointing fingers at others, and wimpy language can help bosses keep their jobs for a while, but it usually backfires in the long run. No matter what is said, bosses are seen as responsible for what their people do.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Performance and humanity are the goals that great bosses aim to achieve. Yet the best bosses devote little energy to thinking about how great it would be to reach these goals, worrying if they can, or even celebrating when they do.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“When people (regardless of personality) wield power, their ability to lord it over others causes them to (1) become more focused on their own needs and wants; (2) become less focused on others’ needs, wants, and actions; and (3) act as if written and unwritten rules others are expected to follow don’t apply to them.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Despite the horseshit spewed out by too many management gurus, there are no magic bullets, instant cures, or easy shortcuts to becoming a great boss. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. The best bosses succeed because they keep chipping away at a huge pile of dull, interesting, fun, rewarding, trivial, frustrating, and often ridiculous chores. That’s why this book is called Good Boss, Bad Boss. Devoting relentless attention to doing one good thing after another – however small – is the only path I know to becoming and remaining a great boss.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Investigadores de la Universidad de Florida descubrieron que los empleados de jefes maltratadores eran más propensos que otros a bajar el ritmo de trabajo o a cometer errores a propósito (30 % frente a un 6 %), a esconderse de sus jefes (27 % frente a un 4 %), a no esforzarse al máximo (33 % frente a un 9 %) y a solicitar bajas cuando no estaban enfermos (29 % frente a un 4 %). Los empleados que eran víctimas de maltratos estaban tres veces menos dispuestos a hacer sugerencias o a solucionar problemas en su trabajo.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Buen jefe, mal jefe

“If clients treat you like dirt, fire them if possible. If you can’t, charge asshole taxes, give employees who work with them combat pay, and limit everyone’s exposure to these creeps.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Recall the CEO who used this strategy when his people started freaking out about a sales campaign that was crucial to the company’s survival. He calmed and focused his team by having them break down the campaign into specific tasks, divide the list into easy and hard tasks, and then make quick progress on the easy ones. This strategy transformed a situation where people felt overwhelmed and helpless into one where, after accomplishing a string of small wins, they felt a strong link between their actions and meaningful changes around them – which is how behavioral scientists define the perception of control.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Again, creative incompetence must be used with great care, but it is something that every good boss keeps in his or her tool kit. If you are a boss, ask yourself: Are there required (but irrelevant) procedures your people ought to perform in less time-consuming and more half-assed ways? Are there boring or demeaning chores that keep them from doing exciting and more important things? Also consider if your willingness to do low-priority and downright trivial tasks enables other bosses and teams to devote their full attention to more intriguing and crucial challenges. Are there things you are known for doing willingly and well that sap time from work that is more important to your people, your organization, and your own career? For example, do you seem to lead every time-sucking but insignificant task force and organize every holiday party (because no one else will or they always screw it up)? Are you entertaining a constant parade of visitors whom other bosses don’t believe are worth wasting time with? If you can’t wiggle out of such chores, perhaps it is time for a bit of creative incompetence.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“We wondered if there was research on stand-up meetings, and to our delight, we found an experiment comparing decisions made by fifty-six groups where people stood up during meetings to fifty-five groups where people sat down. These were short meetings, in the ten- to twenty-minute range, but the researchers found big differences. Groups that stood up took 34 percent less time to make the assigned decision, and there were no significant differences in decision quality between stand-up and sit-down groups. Stand-up meetings aren’t just praised in cute academic studies. Robert Townsend advised in Up the Organization, ‘Some meetings should be mercifully brief. A good way to handle the latter is to hold the meeting with everyone standing up. The meetees won’t believe you at first. Then they get very uncomfortable and can hardly wait to get the meeting over with.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“If you are determined to be an effective shield, start by working on yourself. Great bosses avoid burdening their people. They invent, borrow, and implement ways to reduce the mental and emotional load they heap on followers. In particular, meetings are notorious time and energy suckers. Yes, some are necessary, but too many bosses run them in ways that disrespect people’s time and dignity – especially self-absorbed bosses bent on self-glorification. If you want to grab power and don’t care much about your people, make sure you arrive a little late to most meetings. Plus, every now and then, show up very late, or – better yet – send word after everyone has gathered that, alas, you must cancel the meeting because something more pressing has come up. After all, if you are a very important person, the little people need to accept their inferior social standing. Sound familiar? Using arrival times to display and grab power is an ancient trick. This move was used by elders, or ‘Big Men’, in primitive tribes to gain and reinforce status. An ethnography of the Merina tribe in Madagascar found that jostling for status among elders meant that gatherings routinely started three or four hours late. Elders used young boys to spy on each other and played a waiting game that dragged on for hours. Each elder worked to maximize the impression that the moment he arrived, the meeting started. If he arrived early and the meeting didn’t start right away, it signaled that he wasn’t the alpha male. If he arrived late and the meeting had started without him, it also signaled that he wasn’t the most prestigious elder. I’ve seen similar power plays in academia. I was once on a committee led by a prestigious faculty member who always arrived at least ten minutes late, often twenty minutes. He also cancelled two meetings after the rest of the five-person committee had gathered. I tracked the time I wasted waiting for this jerk, which totaled over a half day during a six-month stretch.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“Yet getting people to use simple language isn’t always easy. Smart talkers have considerable incentive for saying things that are incomprehensible. Unfortunately, people who spew out incomprehensible ‘jargon monoxide’* are rated as smarter than those who use simple words – especially when they are renowned for their expertise. This attribution even occurs when people use unintelligible language to mask meaningless and useless ideas. So beware that when people seem so smart that you can’t understand a word they say, these pretenders may have learned that blasting out jargon monoxide is the best way to get ahead and mask their incompetence at the same time. Authentic experts have no incompetence to mask but must beware of ‘the curse of knowledge’: The more people know about something, the harder it is for them to package explanations and instructions in ways that others can comprehend. Stanford’s Pamela Hinds, for example, showed that people with the greatest expertise at operating a cell phone did the worst job of teaching novices to operate the phone. This curse happens because experts have a hard time putting themselves in the shoes of neophytes. Experts’ actions become so automatic to them that they forget the simple steps they had to learn and other struggles they faced as novices.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst

“As a boss, you need to establish a pecking order where people who know the most about a problem wield the greatest influence over what is done. You especially need to watch who talks the most (and least). Don’t let your people fall prey to the blabbermouth theory of leadership. At least in Western countries, people who talk first and most frequently usually wield excessive influence over others – even when they spew out nonsense.”
― Robert I. Sutton, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst