Your direct reports loathe you. Does it matter?

Abstract

Chalk it up to the labor shortage or to growing worker independence, but today almost everyone agrees that management effectiveness rests heavily on grass roots support. Why do subordinates despise a superior? Indecisiveness, non-support, expense account abuse, and arrogance are some of the documented reasons. Your direct reports can cause you to fail and their perfidy will never be detected. They can question your competence and decisions often-through the grapevine-bombarding top management with derogatory information it ultimately can't or won't ignore. Moreover, the movement of workers from organization to organization means that negative gossip will be repeated in dozens of grapevines. What is the worst thing disgruntled workers do to a manager's career? Not only will victims protest and flack your sins in the grapevine, they'll vote with their feet. Worker shortages mean that turnover is watched as closely as salary expenses. Explored herein are some signs that should cause a manager to examine how he or she stands with the troops.