Bosses' styles mimic movie

December 2003 

In my past year in the corporate world, I have suffered through many styles of management, styles that are best described through the characters in the "Wizard of Oz."

Many of us play the role of Dorothy, lost and looking for our way home.

Managerial types, meanwhile, include:

• The Scarecrow -- the manager without a brain. The manager who got to where he is through the hard work of others he supervised in the past. This manager exemplifies "The Peter Principle" in that he was promoted to his level of incompetence.
• The Tin Man -- the manager without a heart. The manager who has forgotten that her employees are living human beings and have a life outside of work. Simply put, this manager's people skills are nonexistent.
• The Cowardly Lion -- the manager unable to take risks: This manager is also known as the yes man. He will only tell upper management what they want to hear. I believe this is the most frightening manager of all; he can't seem to make a simple decision.

I remember when I was switched from one manager who would get you whatever you needed to make your job easier to one who couldn't make a decision on buying a 3-by-5 index card box.

That level of indecision told me a lot about that manager. If I ever would need him to stand behind me, I knew exactly where he would be: cowering behind me.

Then there's the Wicked Witch of the West -- the manager with only her own interests at heart. This manager, in many ways, has the traits of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the actions of the flying monkey.

There are still other characters, such as:

The Almighty and Powerful Oz – the manager so far removed from day-to-day process that he understands little of the business he conducts. Sadly, this is usually the upper management with the power to control not only the company, but also the fate of the employees.

Unlike the real Wizard of Oz, they are unapproachable. They are not aware of the Scarecrow's, Tin Man's and Lion's dilemmas, and they don't know how to fix them.

More often than not, they hide behind a curtain of power, which prevents them from seeing the true nature of their business.

The Good Witch of the North -- the manager who sees the big picture, has a heart and a brain and is not a coward. This manager knows what her customer wants, builds relationships with her employees, and remembers the little things that make it all work.

As the Good Witch did with Dorothy, these sorts of managers sometimes set us on our own path of discovery and won't solve our problems for us. They celebrate our success, accept our failures, and use them as a learning tool.

As I wander around my house in my red fuzzy slippers, I have no need to tap my heels together.

I know where my Kansas is. I know there is no place like home, and I am happy I no longer have to follow the corporate yellow brick road.