The classic image of a bad boss is one who berates, blames and bemoans his team’s performance without offering any guidance on how to turn things around. There is a worse kind of manager, says Scott Gregory in a recent Harvard Business Review article: the absentee manager.
“Having a boss who lets you do as you please may sound ideal, especially if you are being bullied and micromanaged by your current boss,” Gregory states. However, a 2015 survey of 1,000 working adults showed that eight of the top nine complaints about leaders concerned what their bosses didn’t do.
Gregory defines absentee leaders as people who were promoted into management and enjoy the privileges and rewards of a leadership role, but avoid meaningful involvement with their teams. “Research shows that being ignored by one’s boss is more alienating than being treated poorly,” he says. “The impact of absentee leadership on job satisfaction outlasts the impact of both constructive and overtly destructive forms of leadership. Constructive leadership immediately improves job satisfaction, but the effects dwindle quickly. Destructive leadership immediately degrades job satisfaction, but the effects dissipate after about six months. In contrast, the impact of absentee leadership takes longer to appear, but it degrades subordinates’ job satisfaction for at least two years.”
Absentee leaders are often silent killers for organizations. Their negative impact can be difficult to detect and many organizations don’t confront absentee leaders because they have other managers whose behavior is more overtly destructive. Gregory recommends companies review their leaders at all levels and take steps to resolve issues of absenteeism. “Doing nothing about absentee leaders is easy,”
he says. “Just ask any absentee leader.”
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