In the movie “Breach,” there’s a scene where a young FBI employee is being reassigned and he asks a senior agent what his new boss is like. The older man stares coldly and asks what he wants to know. “Anything that would help me do my job better.” The veteran says, “Don’t take it personally,” and turns away.
We all know what the kid is in for … or think we do. Most bad bosses are just creeps, but some are demanding and sharp-tongued in a way that can be welcome in a world of the wimpy workplaces. Anybody can be a jerk, but only a high-standard few qualify as useful tyrants. All of which got me thinking about what it would take to be excellent at it, to be the perfect tyrant.
In another movie, “The Devil Wears Prada,” Meryl Streep gives us one. I loved her. The movie is the story of her transforming a droopy, aimless new assistant into an efficient professional, which, of course, creates tension with her moony boyfriend. Naturally, we’re supposed to root for the dippy relationship over career success. But the movie fails to persuade. We’re supposed to hate Streep’s character, but yet she’s good at what she does, and here’s what’s more: She makes others better.
That would be the defining trait of the perfect tyrant—making others better by setting high standards and being brutally honest about any exceptions.
Prove Your Worth
Let’s reflect upon that old expression, “brutally honest.” You know the most brutally honest force on the planet: the free market of pure capitalism. The free market is where some guy offers to sell you his mother for 20 bucks, and you go to the other son and get her for $19.50 with free shipping and handling.
So if it’s me, I’d rather have an idea tested upfront, before I put in the effort and then have the market throw it back at me. The perfect tyrant is to business what the monster is in the myth: the challenge to prove worthiness.
Further, with a tyrant, decisions get made. The tyrant decides and, bang, instant consensus. No maybes. (“Maybe” is a contender for the ugliest word in the English language. “Maybe” seems like an open-minded response, but it isn’t; it’s “no” in drag. It’s “maybe, maybe, ah, too late sorry.” With the tyrant, it’s “no, no, no, that one isn’t terrible, no, no.” At least you have decisions and a shot.)
That’s why the perfect tyrant must be fearless. And that includes the fear of hurting someone’s feelings. Take the case of an employee who is doing sub-par work. The perfect tyrant has no problem with saying: “You’re not cutting it. Either give me better work or give me your resignation.” It’s clear and it’s simple, and you get either a or b, and either one works. The soft manager, in contradistinction, tries to sugarcoat the employee’s shortcomings, saying: “We all love having you here, and we appreciate your sense of humor and your punctuality and your ability to fix the copier, but I can’t help but feel you are capable of more. Am I right?” And the employee says, “Yeah” while thinking, “If you paid me more, I might try more.” Then he goes home and tells his roommate: “My boss took me aside today to tell me how terrific I am. I think I’m going to ask for a raise.”
Consistency
On the other side, when the perfect tyrant gives a compliment, it has value. In soft companies, the compliment is about as rare as spotting a pigeon, and about as valued. But when it comes from a tyrant, although it might not seem like much—a mere “You’re not as hopeless as I thought”—is worth cherishing.
Speaking of rare, what makes the perfect tyrant so elusive is that it requires perfect consistency. The occasional tyrant is just moodiness, not a way of working. The perfect ones understand that most ideas don’t work, that most people aren’t extraordinary and that left alone, most things don’t get done. In short, the perfect tyrant must be fearless and tireless in assuming the worst while continuing to expect the best.
Dale Dauten is the founder of The Innovators’ Lab. His latest book is “(Great) Employees Only: How Gifted Bosses Hire and De-Hire Their Way to Success”.
