Posted on Dec 7, 2017
LTJG Officer in training for Submarine Warfare qualification
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Most people have had that one boss that stood out as the worst. Who (mostly position) was your worst boss?
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Edited 7 y ago
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Responses: 25
LTC Kevin B.
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Yes, my first two company commanders as a young lieutenant. Both were very toxic leaders who thought grinding people down and demeaning them (which, in their opinion, was to "make them stronger") was "good leadership".
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CPT Lawrence Cable
CPT Lawrence Cable
7 y
I guess I was luck, only had one that really sucked. Like yours, he would tear people down in front of their troops, micro managed down to squad level and was generally in everyone's business all the time. That would have been bad enough, but too much of the time his "corrections" were wrong. He gave me my only bad OER, and I thank my Senior Rater for bailing me out on that one since he did know what was going on by then. I had never seen a leader piss so many levels of command off so completely. I think the every NCO in the unit went to the SMG about his actions, which is what lead to his being relieved. I'm pretty sure that my OER reflected his opinion that I went to the Bn Commander on him, which wasn't true, although I probably should have over a couple of incidents.
I sometimes think how he acted influenced the rest of my career since I was certain that he was the guy I didn't want to be or act like. I hope it made me a better officer.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
CPT Lawrence Cable
7 y
CPT Lawrence Cable - Now I will admit that I did not discourage any of my NCO's from using the SMG's open door policy.
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LT Brad McInnis
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I would suggest that you think about your question. Asking people to name their worst bosses, in an open forum, is probably not the best thing to do. I know that is not your intent, but always remember there are unintended consequences. Better question would be: What are some of the qualities that characterized your worse bosses?
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CSM Richard StCyr
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A SGT, Squad Leader, who I will not name in case he's dead and he has family on our site. He was the antithesis of the NCO creed, Army Values, Leadership traits and any other description of what rite looks like.
I damn near lost a finger on a table saw because of his antics and get to see the scars daily as a reminder of who I never wanted to be like when I got the chance to be a leader. To say I dislike him to this day is probably an understatement.
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CSM Richard StCyr
CSM Richard StCyr
7 y
SSG Jon Hill - Thanks partner, it's appreciated.
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