Management Violence: The Last Refuge of the Incompetent
Management Violence: The Last Refuge of the Incompetent
“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” This insightful quote from sci-fi legend Isaac Asimov succinctly captures a disturbing truth – that those in positions of power often resort to bullying, threats, and aggression when their own abilities fall short. Unfortunately, such “management violence” remains an all-too-common occurrence in workplaces today. In case your wondering just what I mean by violence, here’s my definition: What Is Violence?
Note the four horsemen of violence in the workplace: Fear, Obligation, Guilt and Shame.
Tools
From shouting matches in the boardroom to abusive emails sent in the dead of night, many managers still wield violence and aggression in the belief that these actions are a legimate and expected part of thier jobs.. They berated subordinates to divert attention from poor decision-making, hurl staplers in a desperate grab at authority, or issue unjustified threats of dismissal to paper over their lack of managerial competence. Given the near ubiquity of such violence, we can see how few managers are anything but hugely incompetent.
Inspiration Not Intimidation
Such behaviours undoubtedly emerge from a position of weakness, not strength. Truly effective managers (is that an oxymoron?) succeed through inspiration, not intimidation. They encourage excellence through positive engagement and earned respect – not fear. If violence is your management style, you’ve already failed. And marked yourself as amongst the truly incompetent majority.
Ubiquitous
In today’s workplaces, management violence can become seen as ubiquitous and even normalised. We expect that bosses will shout and threaten, rather than mentor and support. But we can choose to challenge these assumptions. Let’s never accept aggression as simply “part of the job”.
Behind every angry, desperate ahole of a boss, there lies a fundamental incompetence awaiting exposure. Their posturing attempts to conceal a shortfall in interpersonal, analytical and interpersonal abilities. Their bluster and manipulations ring hollow, unable to disguise their fundamental inadequacies as managers.
The lingering ubiquity of management violence therefore reflects the persistence of mediocre management in too many organisations. Companies can choose to take a stand by instituting clear anti-violence policies and programmes focused on ethical, compassionate management. Employees might choose to unite to call out unacceptable behaviours whenever they witness it.
Together, we can make violence the very last resort of the flailing, incompetent manager. The strengths of positive leadership, teamwork and progress must prevail.
Footnote
Given the near ubiquity of management and management violence, and its signposting of incompetence, is the real problem not individual managers, but the whole idea of “management”?
Further Reading
Hamel, G. (2011). First, let’s fire all the managers. Harvard Business Review, 89(12), 48-60. https://hbr.org/2011/12/first-lets-fire-all-the-managers
Think Different
“Behind every angry, desperate ahole of a boss, there lies a fundamental incompetence awaiting exposure.”
This feels so true. Manager violence is an expression of frustration, incompetence, fear and inadequacy. At times normalised, at others celebrated and worse sometimes forgiven as ‘part of the job’ or down to ‘pressure’.
Well what is the system that creates that pressure? The management factory!
IME management factories are, in turn, a product of The Domination System and its bedfellow, the Myth Of Redemptive Violence (Cf. Walter Wink).