I thought it time to contribute some of my writing to the topic of promoting crappy people in the workplace. So here goes:
According to a study released on Friday, 64.2 percent of respondents indicated that either nothing at all or something positive happened to the bully or crappy manager at their office. If you're anything like me, these findings will no doubt make you say, "Yeah, no duh."
It's nice to have a study to put it down on paper and all, but I think we've all known this from the dawn of time. For some reason, it's always the schmucks that get promoted up and up and up. And as I've always said, you lose a little piece of your soul for each rung of the corporate ladder you climb. And it seems the crappy people, are intent on losing their souls. It's too bad too, because they have so little equity banked in their soul account to begin with.
Or so it seems.
You guys know I'm not big on promotions. I am aware that there are very nice, decent people who want to move up in a company to actually try to do some good. Those people have good intentions. But you know what they say about good intentions.
So, it got me to thinking. What should we conclude from the study findings? Is it that toxic, crappy, jerky people get promoted by a company simply in order to move them from where they are---to reshuffle the deck so-to-speak? Or is it that the good people don't give a crap about being promoted and don't seek out those higher positions? Additionally, does management promote crappy people so that they can keep good company?
Furthermore, since I'm a firm believer in the general goodness of people, that leads me to believe that statistically, there are more good people than bad people in this world. And whattya know? That statistic is directly proportional to how many management positions there are out there. (Also to how many government leadership positions there are, but that's for another day, eh?)
Seriously, humor me on this. I made a little graphic to illustrate my point. I'm sure I'm not the first person to come to this conclusion, but hey, here's my chart. Allow me to feel scientific for a minute.
Makes sense, doesn't it!
I recently had a chat with a friend of mine who complained at how many "just plain bad" people she has been encountering in management. The previous time I had seen her, she mentioned she was going back to school for her MBA. When I asked her what her end goal was, she told me it was to move up the ladder. I told her it's only going to get worse in that case! The thing is, my friend is the nicest person. She's one of those exceptions of the kind of person who wants to move up to do good for her company. But baby, she's gonna get eaten alive!
Maybe I should show her my pyramid chart... Better yet, maybe I should show it to those guys doing the study!
See the link below for the study article.
Talk about it:Why do YOU think bullies, jerks or incompetent people get promoted in the workplace?
CookieHooker(08/16/2007)
I have actually thought about this a lot.
At first my thought was similar to what I’ve been taught in my church, which is membership is service based, so a member is given a subject to teach about, or a position in the church, and they always say this it so that person can learn, i.e. they have to give a talk about humility to learn humility, or they have to be a Den Mother to the Boy Scouts to learn about service, etc. However recently I have found a lot of flaws in this.
I now think these people are promoted out of FEAR. I know my bully boss was given the position not based on talent and skill, but because she threatened a lawsuit of sex discrimination because a rumor was circulated that the people hiring wanted a man for the position. (As a side note, where I live is still so rural, some places are like Deliverance, and since I’m not hiring, I can say a man should have been put in that position, because she’s too scared to go to some places without taking her husband).
Bottom line: I think bad people are promoted because of fear. If you are afraid of someone or something, it gives them/it power! Someone coming off as being "powerful" tends to be promoted.)
Bookwoman(08/16/2007)
I believe many of these people are promoted due to looks. My manager, promoted from a clerk and no management background, experience, OR TRAINING, is pretty. She fits the director's cookie cutter mold (during recent interviews to fill the position of his assistant, all the interviewees were taken on tours of the offices and introduced. Out of 10+ candidates, I knew as soon as I looked up at one she had the job. I told my co-worker I'd bet money "Lauren" would get the job, and would get more money than the previously waaaay overpaid assistant. Lauren started Monday, at $2000 more a year than the previous).
I think I would meet the standards except, as I have been told (by the director himself), "You are so intelligent and so knowledgeable and so capable. You could do any job in here, including mine. You also have a habit of being the one to actually say aloud what everyone else is actually thinking." With all due modesty, and with the caveat that there are multitudes of things at which I supremely suck at doing, I am very, very, very good at what I do, one of the best. Too bad I sit in the back corner, get paid peanuts, and will never advance.
twiz(08/18/2007)
Great post. A few jobs ago the company I worked for was going through a pretty big outsourcing project. The most interesting phenomena occurred. Most of their top employees left the company before being outsourced (and training their overseas counterpart). Many of the less friendly/desirables stuck around and filled in middle-management roles with the new sourcing company. What was interesting was the top performers didn't want anything to do with the new outsourcing company... they felt they deserved better... The lackluster employees seemed to crave management positions... perhaps so they would no longer have to do real work.. so they took advantage and got promoted... simply due to the fact that they stayed and there was no one else to promote.
I think your consensus is dead-one about the type of folks who pursue climbing the corporate ladder... they aren't the ones who could survive doing much else..
MillyMoo(01/06/2008)
I think that a lot of people get promoted not just on looks (well said, Bookwoman) but also as a 'handballing' method.
Here in Australia, a handball is a quick and fast pass-on of the ball in Aussie rules football, but is very often used in government departments, universities and schools to get rid of a shocker of an employee. If someone is a disaster and you don't want to address it directly with them or fire them, you can do one of two easy things:
1) On the phone and in writing be a dazzling referee for them (as a recruiter in the past, these glowing refs always got me suspicious: "Oh so you're saying that she converted water to wine at the last finance committee meeting?"), or
2) PROMOTE THEM - preferably to another position in another section.
I've seen many ill-deserving dunderheads get shoved up the ladder using these methods. The sad thing is, in addition to taking away a job from someone smarter and more talented and making life difficult for the plebs working under them, these shockers actually believe that they are, in fact, good at what they do and that the rest of us aspire to be just like them!
lvsunshine(08/26/2011)
The Bully in my casino was promoted from food service to players host. Much more prestige for him. :( But also I never see him anymore (there is a god :)
The General manager - a complete incompetent! got a position at a new casino and he moved UP the ladder. He now has 2 outlets and is a director!
This is a guy who put thousands of dollars of red win in a wet drink cooler! Ruining it.
Better people at the bottom. Completely agree!
(08/26/2011)
JobSchmobber Community Comments
dumber than a catbox full of sh*t (08/15/2007)
Bad people get promoted because...don't forget--even crappy people have friends.
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