Horrible Leaders: Know A Frankenstein, Ghost Or Vampire Manager?

Most of us bear the scars of having worked with some terrible leaders during our careers and have the odd leadership horror story to tell. So, who are the scariest characters to look out for in your own workplace this Halloween?

1. The Jekyll and Hyde manager

“The story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is all about a man who is repressing hidden evil in his personality, but in hiding this part of his personality, he turns into the evil Mr Hyde,” says Nicholas Janni, co-founder of Matrix Development and author of Leader as Healer: A New Paradigm for 21st-Century Leadership, overall winner of the U.K.’s Business Book Awards 2023. “The story holds a cautionary tale all leaders can learn from. It is about the dangers of repressing emotions and hiding them from colleagues.”

When we block ourselves from feeling emotions, we are left cold and numb, according to Janni. But, by processing our emotions, we can move through them to experience greater peace. He explains: “We are left with openness and greater compassion for ourselves and others.”

2. The vampire leader

“Most leaders at the top of large organizations display some form of narcissism,” says Dr Helmut Schuster, co-author of A Career Carol: A Tale of Professional Nightmares and How to Navigate Them. “They are ambitious people, but they are also nice people and good leaders. They might need their ego stroked occasionally – it’s what helps them to stay motivated and keep the pace that their brutal career demands. But, ultimately, their aim is to be a good leader.”

Unfortunately, however, there is also a much darker breed of narcissist: the vampires. For this group of leaders, their narcissism is a real personality disorder. They lack self-confidence and may have had some trauma in their past.

“They feed off the energy of people around them, requiring constant adoration and obedience, and attempt to create co-dependencies,” says Schuster. “They can only stand tall when they make others feel small. They can appear random – utterly charming one moment; devoid of empathy the next. Many companies have been crushed, people and their careers destroyed, by this kind of vampire leader.”

Schuster says it is important is to trust your instincts if you come across such a person. “Don’t work for them,” he advises. “Don’t invest in their companies. Their true self will come to light eventually. And if there’s one thing that vampires hate most, it is light and transparency!”

3. The Frankenstein manager

‘Tis the season of ghouls and goblins and organizations are once again clearing the skeletons from their closets, constructing from these bones the initiatives they want to run next year. Yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s budget season again! But wait, is there a horror stalking the corridors of your organization?

Since the pandemic, employees’ values and expectations have changed, yet managers’ skills have not necessarily evolved in response. “While not every manager is a credit-sucking vampire, or a passive-aggressive werewolf, pretty much all of us are Frankenstein managers,” says Dominic Ashley-Timms, CEO of performance consultancy Notion, co-creator of the STAR Manager online development program, and co-author of The Answer is a Question. “We are made of the salvaged bits of learning and experience that we’ve picked up along the way – our management style has been sewn together.”

It’s no surprise, then, that employees will change roles or leave their employer to get away from this ugly reality.

So, how can you light a beacon that banishes poor management? Ashley-Timms points to published research, which he co-authored, showing that a new approach called Operational Coaching helps managers to develop the missing superpower of asking intentional questions, helping team members to develop greater confidence. This, in turn, fosters increased levels of employee engagement and retention.

4. The ghost manager

“Ghost managers are becoming more common in today’s world of hybrid and remote working,” says Lauren Neal, author of Valued at Work: Shining a light on bias to engage, enable, and retain women in STEM. “And we are starting to recognize the haunting reality of employees becoming disengaged, demotivated shadows of their former selves.”

Neal explains: “When an employee speaks up in a meeting, a ghost manager stifles open communication by ignoring the comment and moving the meeting on. This promotes poor workplace behavior by invalidating the employee speaking up and excluding different perspectives.”

Ghost managers rarely provide meaningful feedback, argues Neal, leaving employees in the dark about their performance and career development. Over time, employees then become disengaged, disheartened, and emotionally detached from their work, slowly transforming into ghostly, uninspired versions of their former selves.

“Employees with potential to become future leaders are blocked by ghost managers through lack of advocacy for progression opportunities,” says Neal. “The ghost manager prefers to maintain the status quo while stifling self-worth and belief and removing any threat of future competition.”

According to Neal, workplace cultures can break free from the haunting grip of ghost managers by encouraging diverse perspectives, providing constructive and actionable feedback, and advocating for employees’ progression. She says: “This ensures teams remain vibrant, engaged and motivated rather than fading into the shadows of workplace apathy.”

5. The Living Dead leader

Without even noticing it, many leaders become zombies in their jobs, argues Paolo Gallo, an executive coach, keynote speaker and author of The Seven Games of Leadership: Navigating the Inner Journey of Leaders. Fortunately, they have an opportunity to escape from this soulless existence by focusing on continuous learning; building trust through being at the service of others; and providing psychological safety by giving their team permission to take risks. If you regularly suffer from Sunday afternoon depression, Gallo’s advice is as follows: “Maybe it is time to re-assess your role and job, rather than keep working as a Living Dead leader?”

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