How To Be The Worst Boss You Can Be – Lessons From Spy History
Every once in a while, the US government declassifies an interesting historical document, and occasionally, one will flutter into the public eye. One such document has recently resurfaced, not for unveiling a government scandal but for its stark relevance to the everyday workplace.
The document in question is the Office of Strategic Services’ (OSS) "Simple Sabotage Field Manual" from the 1940s, originally crafted to instruct ordinary folks under Axis rule on subtle sabotage techniques within their organizations. Fast forward to today, and parts of the manual read eerily like a playbook for a familiar type of management that leaves employees everywhere feeling disempowered and despondent.
Here are just a few excerpts of its guidance for managers:
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Micromanage your little heart out.
“Multiply the procedures and clearances involved in issuing instructions, pay checks, and so on. See that three people have to approve everything where one would do.”
"Insist on doing everything through 'channels.' Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions."
Diving into the heart of micromanagement, the manual's advice is not just a reflection of a bygone era but a mirror of the frustrations many face in modern workplaces. In fact, anyone who has ever worked for a micromanager will recognize the everyday inefficiency and frustration represented by the manual’s advice. Micromanagement is revealed as a strategy so finely tuned to disrupt and demoralize that it's as if inefficiency and low morale were its primary objectives. The real artistry, however, lies in the subtlety with which these tactics are employed, masquerading as a quest for perfection. In truth, they serve to bog down processes, squander talent, and sap the spirit of innovation. A micromanager, in their pursuit of control over minutiae, not only stifles productivity but also cultivates an environment where creativity and initiative go to die.
Effective leadership, in contrast, is about guiding from a place of trust and empowerment, not from a pedestal of constant oversight and correction. Recognizing the strengths of each team member and allowing them the space to breathe and grow is the antithesis of the sabotage manual’s guidance.
Create extra layers of bureaucracy.
“Insist on perfect work in relatively unimportant products; send back for refinishing those which have the least flaw.”
“Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.”
Bureaucracy, the manual suggests, can be a powerful tool for undermining an organization – a theme that resonates with the frustration of navigating through the labyrinthine processes in many of today’s organizations. What was once prescribed as a means to target enemy operations now mirrors the self-inflicted wounds of overcomplicated processes and decision-making paralysis in companies worldwide. This strategy finds its counterpart in poor management practices that inadvertently promote inefficiency through demotivating leadership styles, unclear objectives, or processes built on the mistrust and policing of employee decision-making.
Even company initiatives designed to empower employees can quickly become burdened by bureaucratic gatekeeping and red tape. These hurdles are an excellent way to demonstrate to your most motivated employees that their efforts to innovate or go above and beyond are unwelcome. The end result is a drop in productivity and morale that can be just as significant, whether due to intentional sabotage or unintentional mismanagement.
Take aim at employee morale.
“To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.”
“Act stupid. Be as irritable and quarrelsome as possible without getting yourself into trouble.”
The manual recognized the power of undermining morale directly as well, advising saboteurs to foster distrust, pessimism, and frustration through mismanagement. The manual’s insight into morale erosion and its relationship to performance is both profound and disturbingly applicable. It underscores the impact of mismanagement on team spirit and productivity, revealing how favoritism, injustice, and negativity can sabotage from within.
Today, these behaviors may show up in managers who discriminate against employees based on their race, gender, or other identity markers. They also show up in managers who bully their employees, those who are consistently engaging in unproductive conflict with their peers, or those who just show up to any interaction with the kind of irritable energy that puts everyone on edge.
Ultimately, managers like these and those who fail to recognize and address the needs and contributions of their team not only erode morale but can also inadvertently cultivate an environment as counterproductive as any sabotage operation.
Communicate as often (and as poorly) as possible.
"Make ‘speeches’. Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your 'points' by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences."
“Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.”
“When training new workers, give incomplete or misleading instructions.”
“Give lengthy and incomprehensible explanations when questioned.”
The manual’s advice on communication is a masterclass in how not to do it. In today’s fast-paced work environment, the value of clear, concise, and relevant communication cannot be overstated. The sabotage manual, however, champions the opposite: verbosity, irrelevance, and timing so impeccably poor it hinders critical work. The guide cleverly advocates for the spread of misinformation and miscommunication because these tactics are effective ways to confuse, frustrate, and demoralize employees while contributing to a variety of other forms of organizational inefficiency.
The takeaways here extend beyond the realm of espionage into the core of modern business leadership: managers should strive to communicate with purpose, clarity, and respect for others’ knowledge and time. Maximizing the consistency and clarity of employee onboarding sets up new team members for success. Ensuring instructions are complete and understandable not only streamlines operations but also fosters a culture of transparency and trust. Considering the timing of communications from employees’ perspectives and minimizing the burden that long, leader-driven meetings can place on already overloaded workers are additional lessons many organizations could learn from.
Final Thoughts
The "Simple Sabotage Field Manual" inadvertently serves as a reverse handbook for effective organizational management, reinforcing some of the most basic principles of leadership by highlighting their opposites. It's a stark reminder that the qualities of a good manager lie in empowering their team, streamlining processes, fostering a trusting and equitable work environment, and communicating thoughtfully. Unless you're engaging in a covert operation against an oppressive regime (in which case, keep up the good work!), adopting any of the manual’s strategies is likely to lead you down the path of becoming the worst boss you can be. Let this historical artifact inspire a reflection on your own management practices and a collective shift towards a more enlightened, empowering, and effective leadership approach.
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