The Most Widely Disliked Management Trait

I was recently speaking with someone who was reflecting on her career when she reminded me of a fundamental management truth.

She had worked for many years for a solid insurance organization and had largely enjoyed her work. There was only one time in her career when she hadn't liked it, and she remembered it well.

She had normally worked quite independently, but then one manager chose to get much more involved in the details of her daily tasks and became surprisingly controlling.

The effect was immediate. Frustration with the job increased, and enjoyment of it declined.

It was a textbook example: Employees almost never respond well to