Supervisor or supervillain: Are managers the ‘Darth Vader’ of the workplace?

As a famous superhero movie taught us, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Here, we explore whether managers are being set up to fail in the modern-day workplace.

It’s been a long-preconceived notion that managers or leaders are the so-called “villains” in the workplace, yet unlike Darth Vader calling the shots on the Death Star, most managers are not purposefully attempting to portray themselves in an evil or cruel manner.

In fact, most managers were employees once and have faced similar obstacles to those that the workers in their team are currently facing. Managers are often thrust into a position where they must provide results while showing empathy and care towards their team. Not an easy juggling act.

Jonathan Tabah, director of HR advisory at Gartner, offered some insight into the notion that managers are the ‘workplace villain’ and explained some of the pressure created by organisations that puts managers in tricky situations.

“Over the last few years, leaders have been under pressure to steer their teams through major challenges, including the adoption, subsequent rollback of hybrid work and disruptions like AI implementation and skills-based transformations and a volatile economic environment,” Tabah said.

“Driving productivity from an exhausted workforce while demonstrating empathy and understanding is no easy feat. When we start to see toxic leadership traits such as micromanagement, double standards, and favouritism, it’s usually a sign of a manager who has lost confidence in their own ability to lead.”

Toxic leadership is a commonly used phrase throughout Aussie workplaces regardless of industry, and the onus for that label is primarily fixated on the manager/leader who is portraying those behaviours.

Tabah explained that often when we take a step back and look at the bigger picture, a number of these managers were never equipped with the toolkit to lead in what is a complex workplace dynamic.

“For many of these so-called ‘bad bosses’, the behaviours of poor leadership reflect this low place of confidence, or simply from being in an information vacuum. They often haven’t been equipped with effective leadership capabilities or are simply struggling to assess the productivity of staff working remotely and are trying to drive an outcome from a distance,” Tabah said.

“When damaging behaviour plays out in the workplace, it’s easy to point the finger at the manager, but often the organisation hasn’t set them up for success, and the ineffective manager behaviour is the symptom, not the cause.”

“Organisations must take a comprehensive approach to driving effective manager behaviours, and training or development [is] only one piece of that puzzle. Training alone doesn’t reliably drive behaviour change.”

Tabah spoke about the narrative of managers being workplace villains and explained that said narrative has been circulating in workplaces for a long time.

“The idea that a boss or manager is a workplace villain has been around for a long time, but the global pandemic and hybrid working has created the conditions to exacerbate this sentiment,” Tabah said.

“However, referring to a manager as a ‘villain’ infers that they’re intentionally doing harm, which is rarely the case. When managers underperform or demonstrate toxic behaviours, it’s usually because they’re ill equipped, spread too thin, or are simply not the right fit for the role.”

Impactful initiatives from organisations can embolden managers to steer clear of that toxic leadership trait. HR’s role in equipping managers with that skill set Tabah alluded to can be crucial for the workplace dynamic.

“An impactful initiative starts with the organisational design question of how the role should deliver value to the organisation, then what tasks and workflows it will be responsible for, and then what the employee in that role will need to be good at to deliver on these things,” Tabah said.

“Using these insights, HR can create a leadership strategy that encompasses selection, progression, development, performance and accountability measures, and other talent processes that impact behaviour.”

If that pathway towards positive leadership is paved by the organisation, then managers are already halfway to setting good standards among their teams. However, the other half of the job is caring for their wellbeing and ensuring that none succumb to the pressure being put on them or other issues arising.

This is where self-reflection on leadership attributes comes in. It can be a pillar for a manager’s improvement and accountability.

“Those who do not conduct any form of self-analysis will find it very difficult to be a truly effective leader. However, we can’t assume that all managers will reflect on their actions, be self-aware, and build emotional intelligence all of their own volition,” Tabah said.

“HR must consider how they implement a comprehensive leadership strategy to drive meaningful behaviour change.”

In this scenario, if managers are the “Darth Vader” of the workplace, then HR and organisations can be that “Luke Skywalker” figure that steers them away from the “dark side” or, in this case, toxic leadership. By implementing a legitimate pathway to build those leadership intangibles properly – instead of throwing them into the deep end – workplace culture can thrive and flourish.

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.