While research from Pew finds that most people like their bosses, about one in five give their direct managers low ratings and that can have a significant impact. Gallup reports that only 30% of American workers are engaged in their workplace and that managers account for at least 70% of the variance between motivated and unmotivated employees.  

Yet leaders begin their roles with the best of intentions. No one starts out by thinking, “I want to make everyone’s lives miserable and undermine their performance.” Still, we know many do just that. Most are thrust into the role, with very little training or development, because they were good at something else or there was simply a hole to be filled.

The truth is that most leaders fail because they don’t understand how to do their job. They get bad advice or try to emulate “tough” bosses like the ones they see in movies like Steve Jobs or The Devil Wears Prada, giving them misconceptions about what it takes to be effective. You may think you’re a good boss, but if you’re doing one of these things, you’re probably not. 

Many managers take an economist’s view of the workplace. Employees do work for you. You pay them. Neither side is acting out of charity, but in your own self-interest. It is much as Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations : “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

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