I have had countless managers in my life. Some good. Some bad. Some great. Some awful. I thought I would point out some characteristics of terrible managers that I have found in my experience.

1. They get easily angry

Typically speaking, people who are angry were once small children who through a fit if they didn’t get their way. They threw temper-tantrums and stomped their feet when Mommy would not give them the toy they wanted to buy. Fast forward a few decades and now they are people who want things their way and lose their shit at the drop of a hat because someone made a typo in some documentation.

2. They know-it-all

Sure, they have in this field for a while and have accomplished a lot, but it doesn’t mean they know everything. The know-it-all managers are the ones who try to make other people feel stupid when they happen to say something they don’t agree with, or even better don’t know. Know-it-alls are horrible collaborators because they usually are not accepting of ideas from others.

3. Complacent in their job

They worked for years and climbed the corporate ladder and now they are exactly where they want to be. These managers just don’t really give an F anymore about progressing, which usually means their team doesn’t progress. These are very dangerous managers because they probably don’t really care to continue to learn either. In IT, these are the managers who still want you to do things like it was the 90’s.

4. Don’t really care about managing people

There is a fine line between letting team members do their job without micromanaging, and just don’t really caring to manage them at all. Dont get me wrong, I would much rather have this type of manager then the ones who are on top of you for every single mistake you make. In IT, these managers are prevalent because they have great minds, but they don’t know how to deal with people at all. The truth is, they should have never been given a position as manager and would be better off being an engineer.

5. They are selfish

These managers don’t give an F if their team members live or die as long as they are getting paid and don’t have to hear it from whoever they report to. They will never stick their neck out for a subordinate. They will never advocate for you when you want a raise. Their needs will always come before anyone else’s needs. Most likely, they genuinely believe they are manager because they are superior over anyone else. These types suck.