WHEN MANAGEMENT LEADERS ACT "SMALL"

Some people lack authenticity and I refer to them as “small people.” They are difficult to deal with because they have blocked many issues about competency from awareness. They are not genuine. They tend to overcompensate by trying to act important. They tend to project a sense of shallowness rather than substance. In the corporate world, these are the leaders who like to micromanage, who use boss-management techniques, and believe in a hierarchal system of organization. They use their role to control people and events. They can be arrogant, pushy, over-controlling and detached. They tend to meet their needs by dictating to others what to do and how to do it. There is no dialogue or collaboration with employees. Small people don’t role model or lead by example. They want others to believe that they are well versed on virtually every subject and want others to comply with their demands. They are highly rigid, critical, and use coercive techniques to control employees rather than demonstrate affirmation and coaching. Generally, their employees despise them and do just enough work to get by. Their employees are passive-aggressive in the work environment and the idea of creating quality work is resisted due to frustration and anger.

Small people project their insecurities onto others. They try to make their employees feel defective, and in doing so, they attempt to elevate their own sense of self. Competent employees who demonstrate strength and experience can be intimidating to small people. In order to maintain their fragile sense of self, small people try to boost their self-esteem at the expense of others. They may attack and demean those who pose a threat to their self-image. When small people feel threatened, they become defensive and go on the attack. They will do whatever it takes to humiliate those that they perceive as threatening to them. The more resistance they perceive, the more they retaliate. Small people, with their fragile sense of self, thrive on the ability to gain power and control over those who they attempt to manage. One might call boss-management leaders compulsive bureaucrats. They are focused with issues and tasks which others would consider minutiae, and are unable to grasp a larger vision of their corporate goals.

Small people are dangerous because it is difficult to “read” them accurately. They are corporate climbers who are more interested in their own success than the betterment and well-being of those they serve. Employees generally “walk on egg shells” not wanting to make any moves that might create conflict with a boss with a fragile sense of self.


James P. Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC, CCBT is an author, freelance writer, and cognitive-behavioral therapist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. He recently released, Stepping out of the Bubble: Reflections on the Pilgrimage of Counseling Therapy available at http://www.booklocker.com/books/2242.html. James can be reached through his website at www.krehbielcounseling.com.