Why are bosses toxic in the first place? What makes them bad? And how can we change it? In this episode Mark proposes an unconventional but effective perspective. He also looks at the connection between their behaviour and bureaucracy at work. 0:00 - Intro 1:27 - Story #1: What we learned about bureaucracy from 7,000 HBR readers 2:55 - Diseconomies of scale: What they are and how they come about? 4:33 - Why is bureaucracy so prevalent and why is it increasing? 7:45 - How can bureaucracy be overcome? 9:55 - Story #2: Article claiming how toxic behaviour of bosses should be addressed 11:43 - False assumption of the article and what can be done instead to handle a bad boss 14:33 - Hypocrisy of the underlying claim that the mainstream opinion follows 15:52 - Episode wrap up Article by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini from story #1: https://hbr.org/2017/08/what-we-learned-about-bureaucracy-from-7000-hbr-readers?registration=success Article by Shawn McClean, Stephen H. Courtright, Troy A. Smith, and Junhyok Yim from story #2: https://hbr.org/2021/01/stop-making-excuses-for-toxic-bosses ************************* Please make suggestions for articles to deconstruct in the comments section or via email to mail@markup.news ************************* About MarkUp News: Challenging Mainstream Management Advice As a leader, how do you know if the mainstream management advice you consume is reliable? And if everyone follows the same opinion, how do you avoid mediocracy? In this show Mark Poppenborg dissects mainstream publications on management, organisational change and work as a whole. Train your critical thinking, get practical inspiration and benefit from an unconventional and highly successful perspective on leadership and organisational design. Mark is the founder and creative force behind intrinsify, a group of companies that leads businesses towards modern leadership, post-bureaucratic organisational design and purposeful work by advising and educating decision makers in key roles. ************************* How to follow and connect to Mark Poppenborg Mark's website: https://markup.news/websiteen Mark's website in German: https://markup.news/websitede Mark on LinkedIn: https://markup.news/linkedin Mark on Twitter: https://markup.news/twitter Mark on Instagram: https://markup.news/instagram intrinsify: https://markup.news/intrinsify #MarkPoppenborg #MarkUpNews #intrinsify

When employees seem unaligned, mainstream management advice calls for over-communication. However, most often disalignment is an optical illusion. Mark points to a better place to start looking for solutions. Story #2 of this episode addresses mental health at work and makes a case for less intervention and explains why encroaching on employee's privacy can have detrimental consequences. 0:00 - Intro 1:16 - Story #1: Article claims leaders should over-communicate to the extreme 3:00 - Conclusions drawn from anecdotal evidence and why they are insufficient 7:37 - Challenging the assumptions of the article: What could be the true reason for a sense of disalignment and a need for over-communication? 10:22 - The hidden benefit of employees playing dumb 11:26 - How managers could benefit from this alternative view 14:05 - Story #2: Mental health in the workplace: The coming revolution 18:42 - The authors suggestions on how to tackle mental health issues 20:38 - Six ways that allegedly help tackling mental health related issues 23:55 - Two main reasons why the article's proposition is fundamentally wrong: 1) It doesn't ask for the cause 28:12 - 2) Encroaching on people's privacy | Disrespecting individual dignity 32:24 - Potential hidden agenda by McKinsey? Industrialising mental health 33:34 - Wrapping up the episode Article by Adam Bryant and Kevin Sharer from story #1: https://www.fastcompany.com/90607036/leaders-this-is-why-overcommunication-only-strengthens-your-cause Article by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Leanne Williams from story #2: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/mental-health-in-the-workplace-the-coming-revolution ************************* Please make suggestions for articles to deconstruct in the comments section or via email to mail@markup.news ************************* About MarkUp News: Challenging Mainstream Management Advice As a leader, how do you know if the mainstream management advice you consume is reliable? And if everyone follows the same opinion, how do you avoid mediocracy? In this show Mark Poppenborg dissects mainstream publications on management, organisational change and work as a whole. Train your critical thinking, get practical inspiration and benefit from an unconventional and highly successful perspective on leadership and organisational design. Mark is the founder and creative force behind intrinsify, a group of companies that leads businesses towards modern leadership, post-bureaucratic organisational design and purposeful work by advising and educating decision makers in key roles. ************************* How to follow and connect to Mark Poppenborg Mark's website: https://markup.news/websiteen Mark's website in German: https://markup.news/websitede Mark on LinkedIn: https://markup.news/linkedin Mark on Twitter: https://markup.news/twitter Mark on Instagram: https://markup.news/instagram intrinsify: https://markup.news/intrinsify #MarkPoppenborg #MarkUpNews #intrinsify