Management styles. There are two types of managers that I hate: those that bully, and those that bend. I have worked for both in equal numbers during the course of my career - two bullies, and two bendies (as well as the occasional ‘good guy’), and I have to say, I actually prefer the bullies to the bendies.

Of course, both generate unnecessary stress. The bullies often leave you feeling without a voice. You feel that you cannot make a legitimate point if it goes against some whim or policy that the bully will defend in a nasty way. Long-term you feel there is little point in trying to make an honest contribution and you end up spending most of your energy not feeling that you can help move an organization forward. If you want to keep your job (or have to because of circumstances) you spend a lot of time unproductively trying to work out what is the right thing to say, or trying keep your mouth shut, or trying to make sure that your back is covered.

Ultimately bullies generate a climate of fear. You watch what happens to those who refuse to toe the party line in the interests of integrity or greater sanity. You see the attempts at public humiliation at meetings. You watch the contrived appraisals where good colleagues mysteriously are told that they have not met their targets. You become aware of the budget cuts for that particular person, the move to a smaller office, the stopping of invites to important meetings, the refusal of requests for equipment or training, and you watch the career suddenly freeze or go into nose dive.