The thieving boss

page 2,  Bosses 101: What makes someone a bad boss?

You spend days and nights producing an in-depth article that is guaranteed to bring your publication’s traffic numbers into the millions. The idea is so original that big content partners like AOL and Yahoo are calling your extension asking for syndication rights. You submit the article to your editor-in-chief and wait patiently for the permission to publish on the Web site. Three days later, you see your article live on the site but with your boss’s byline.

A manager who steals the work and ideas of his/her employees is someone who lacks work ethics and is insecure in his/her own ability to succeed in the company. They’re often incompetent and incapable of formulating their own original ideas and will resort to stealing to hide their deficiencies. Thieving bosses will never take responsibility for their bad behavior— they will blame subordinates when the company goals are not met. If there is success to be had, they will take all the credit and refuse to acknowledge anyone else. Employees who’ve had to work under such bosses often suffer anxieties and depression. They feel under-valued and demeaned.

“Whenever you have a good idea, don't just tell your boss about it. Write it in a memo and copy someone else on the memo, like your boss's boss or another manager whose department may be positively impacted by your effort," says Marilyn Haight author of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Boss, How to Survive 13 Types of Dysfunctional, Disrespectful, Dishonest Little Dictators. “It's hard to steal an idea when someone else knows who the originator is right from the start.”

If you want to confront your boss about his/her unethical behavior, Haight offers some suggestions on her Web site, BigBadBoss.com.

• Keep an “audit trail of how you came up with the idea and developed it into a workable asset.”
• Keep a careful record of all emails and memos that document the completion of your work.
• Send your boss a written memo, email it if you like, asking how s/he was able to take credit for the work that you did. Be diplomatic and expect that the response you get will most likely be unsatisfactory.

Unfortunately, confronting a thieving boss will in most cases, lead to negative results. The aggrieved employee will likely be retaliated against or bullied into resigning in many instances.

Still, if you’re ready to face the possibility of being discharged, confronting your boss is still a good way to regain a modicum of your self-respect. But if you’re afraid of getting fired, you can just sit tight and hope that the poor ethics of your boss eventually catches up to him/her.

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