Work Matters

The Top 10 Worst Fictional Bosses

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I was reading the Rypple blog this morning in anticipation of the Good Boss, Bad Boss webinar they are hosting at 2 Eastern today.  There is a great new post there by Alanah Throop on The Top 10 Worst Fictional Bosses.  Check it out.  I don't want to ruin the fun, but in looking at the list and thinking of the worst bosses, I would argue that to be really awful, a boss needs to be both an asshole and incompetent at getting things done.  So I would say, for example that some of the folks on their list like Darth Vader and Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada definitely qualify as certified assholes, but I would not rate them as the worst of the worst because they are good at getting things done.  And both did show a modicum of compassion eventually. So that leaves me with bosses who are both certified assholes and incompetent.  For me, the winner is Bill Lumbergh from Office Space.  His veneer of consideration combined with incessant nagging for TPS reports and other acts cruelty and incompetence are tough to beat.  Also, for bonus points, above he is pictured wearing the infamous asshole collar.

Who would top your list? 


Comments

40 responses to “The Top 10 Worst Fictional Bosses”

  1. Sally Gore Avatar
    Sally Gore

    It’s hard to top Lumbergh, but I’d say Franklin Hart (played by Dabney Coleman) in “9 to 5” is right up there.
    Thanks for the webinar today. It was great. A number of good takeaways.

    Reply
  2. Sally Gore Avatar
    Sally Gore

    It’s hard to top Lumbergh, but I’d say Franklin Hart (played by Dabney Coleman) in “9 to 5” is right up there.
    Thanks for the webinar today. It was great. A number of good takeaways.

    Reply
  3. Sally Gore Avatar
    Sally Gore

    It’s hard to top Lumbergh, but I’d say Franklin Hart (played by Dabney Coleman) in “9 to 5” is right up there.
    Thanks for the webinar today. It was great. A number of good takeaways.

    Reply
  4. Sally Gore Avatar
    Sally Gore

    It’s hard to top Lumbergh, but I’d say Franklin Hart (played by Dabney Coleman) in “9 to 5” is right up there.
    Thanks for the webinar today. It was great. A number of good takeaways.

    Reply
  5. Sally Gore Avatar
    Sally Gore

    It’s hard to top Lumbergh, but I’d say Franklin Hart (played by Dabney Coleman) in “9 to 5” is right up there.
    Thanks for the webinar today. It was great. A number of good takeaways.

    Reply
  6. Sally Gore Avatar
    Sally Gore

    It’s hard to top Lumbergh, but I’d say Franklin Hart (played by Dabney Coleman) in “9 to 5” is right up there.
    Thanks for the webinar today. It was great. A number of good takeaways.

    Reply
  7. Sally Gore Avatar
    Sally Gore

    It’s hard to top Lumbergh, but I’d say Franklin Hart (played by Dabney Coleman) in “9 to 5” is right up there.
    Thanks for the webinar today. It was great. A number of good takeaways.

    Reply
  8. Sally Gore Avatar
    Sally Gore

    It’s hard to top Lumbergh, but I’d say Franklin Hart (played by Dabney Coleman) in “9 to 5” is right up there.
    Thanks for the webinar today. It was great. A number of good takeaways.

    Reply
  9. Rich Fritzson Avatar
    Rich Fritzson

    Worth checking out Dan Hedaya’s “Mr Waturi” in “Joe vs the Volcano”. I remember wanting to strangle him within 30 seconds.
    Catch some of it on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaMeq7HQwE&NR=1
    starting at 5:00 and then at 8:15.
    The whole opening 10 minutes is pretty great though.

    Reply
  10. Rich Fritzson Avatar
    Rich Fritzson

    Worth checking out Dan Hedaya’s “Mr Waturi” in “Joe vs the Volcano”. I remember wanting to strangle him within 30 seconds.
    Catch some of it on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaMeq7HQwE&NR=1
    starting at 5:00 and then at 8:15.
    The whole opening 10 minutes is pretty great though.

    Reply
  11. Rich Fritzson Avatar
    Rich Fritzson

    Worth checking out Dan Hedaya’s “Mr Waturi” in “Joe vs the Volcano”. I remember wanting to strangle him within 30 seconds.
    Catch some of it on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaMeq7HQwE&NR=1
    starting at 5:00 and then at 8:15.
    The whole opening 10 minutes is pretty great though.

    Reply
  12. Rich Fritzson Avatar
    Rich Fritzson

    Worth checking out Dan Hedaya’s “Mr Waturi” in “Joe vs the Volcano”. I remember wanting to strangle him within 30 seconds.
    Catch some of it on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaMeq7HQwE&NR=1
    starting at 5:00 and then at 8:15.
    The whole opening 10 minutes is pretty great though.

    Reply
  13. Rich Fritzson Avatar
    Rich Fritzson

    Worth checking out Dan Hedaya’s “Mr Waturi” in “Joe vs the Volcano”. I remember wanting to strangle him within 30 seconds.
    Catch some of it on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaMeq7HQwE&NR=1
    starting at 5:00 and then at 8:15.
    The whole opening 10 minutes is pretty great though.

    Reply
  14. Rich Fritzson Avatar
    Rich Fritzson

    Worth checking out Dan Hedaya’s “Mr Waturi” in “Joe vs the Volcano”. I remember wanting to strangle him within 30 seconds.
    Catch some of it on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaMeq7HQwE&NR=1
    starting at 5:00 and then at 8:15.
    The whole opening 10 minutes is pretty great though.

    Reply
  15. Rich Fritzson Avatar
    Rich Fritzson

    Worth checking out Dan Hedaya’s “Mr Waturi” in “Joe vs the Volcano”. I remember wanting to strangle him within 30 seconds.
    Catch some of it on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaMeq7HQwE&NR=1
    starting at 5:00 and then at 8:15.
    The whole opening 10 minutes is pretty great though.

    Reply
  16. Rich Fritzson Avatar
    Rich Fritzson

    Worth checking out Dan Hedaya’s “Mr Waturi” in “Joe vs the Volcano”. I remember wanting to strangle him within 30 seconds.
    Catch some of it on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaMeq7HQwE&NR=1
    starting at 5:00 and then at 8:15.
    The whole opening 10 minutes is pretty great though.

    Reply
  17. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    My dream boss is Jack from 30 Rock.

    Reply
  18. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    My dream boss is Jack from 30 Rock.

    Reply
  19. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    My dream boss is Jack from 30 Rock.

    Reply
  20. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    My dream boss is Jack from 30 Rock.

    Reply
  21. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    My dream boss is Jack from 30 Rock.

    Reply
  22. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    My dream boss is Jack from 30 Rock.

    Reply
  23. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    My dream boss is Jack from 30 Rock.

    Reply
  24. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    My dream boss is Jack from 30 Rock.

    Reply
  25. Alanah Throop Avatar
    Alanah Throop

    Hey Bob,
    This is great content! Thanks for linking back to my post on the Rypple blog!
    You do have some very valid ideas here.
    – I was more looking at what it would be like to work for these managers. But I agree that to be a horrible boss, you have to be an asshole and incompetent at getting things done. Lumbergh is a terrific example of both!
    Love the photo.

    Reply
  26. Alanah Throop Avatar
    Alanah Throop

    Hey Bob,
    This is great content! Thanks for linking back to my post on the Rypple blog!
    You do have some very valid ideas here.
    – I was more looking at what it would be like to work for these managers. But I agree that to be a horrible boss, you have to be an asshole and incompetent at getting things done. Lumbergh is a terrific example of both!
    Love the photo.

    Reply
  27. Alanah Throop Avatar
    Alanah Throop

    Hey Bob,
    This is great content! Thanks for linking back to my post on the Rypple blog!
    You do have some very valid ideas here.
    – I was more looking at what it would be like to work for these managers. But I agree that to be a horrible boss, you have to be an asshole and incompetent at getting things done. Lumbergh is a terrific example of both!
    Love the photo.

    Reply
  28. Alanah Throop Avatar
    Alanah Throop

    Hey Bob,
    This is great content! Thanks for linking back to my post on the Rypple blog!
    You do have some very valid ideas here.
    – I was more looking at what it would be like to work for these managers. But I agree that to be a horrible boss, you have to be an asshole and incompetent at getting things done. Lumbergh is a terrific example of both!
    Love the photo.

    Reply
  29. Alanah Throop Avatar
    Alanah Throop

    Hey Bob,
    This is great content! Thanks for linking back to my post on the Rypple blog!
    You do have some very valid ideas here.
    – I was more looking at what it would be like to work for these managers. But I agree that to be a horrible boss, you have to be an asshole and incompetent at getting things done. Lumbergh is a terrific example of both!
    Love the photo.

    Reply
  30. Alanah Throop Avatar
    Alanah Throop

    Hey Bob,
    This is great content! Thanks for linking back to my post on the Rypple blog!
    You do have some very valid ideas here.
    – I was more looking at what it would be like to work for these managers. But I agree that to be a horrible boss, you have to be an asshole and incompetent at getting things done. Lumbergh is a terrific example of both!
    Love the photo.

    Reply
  31. Alanah Throop Avatar
    Alanah Throop

    Hey Bob,
    This is great content! Thanks for linking back to my post on the Rypple blog!
    You do have some very valid ideas here.
    – I was more looking at what it would be like to work for these managers. But I agree that to be a horrible boss, you have to be an asshole and incompetent at getting things done. Lumbergh is a terrific example of both!
    Love the photo.

    Reply
  32. Alanah Throop Avatar
    Alanah Throop

    Hey Bob,
    This is great content! Thanks for linking back to my post on the Rypple blog!
    You do have some very valid ideas here.
    – I was more looking at what it would be like to work for these managers. But I agree that to be a horrible boss, you have to be an asshole and incompetent at getting things done. Lumbergh is a terrific example of both!
    Love the photo.

    Reply
  33. Kate Brodock Avatar
    Kate Brodock

    Bob-great list, thank you! Just catching up on some unread RSS feeds(busy few weeks!) so my question is a touch delayed, but I have one quick one. Do you distinguish between “boss” and “CEO/Owner/President/insert-term-for-company-head-here”? I ask because “boss” to me says the person managing employees, engaging in organizational management, responsible for communication with employees. So, I actually *wouldn’t* count getting things done as part of the definition of boss, but definitely as part of the definition for head-of-company. If the Head is effective at getting the bottom line done phenomenally and has put in place a good manager to be my boss, great. Or, In the above examples, someone can be a great Head and a really lousy Boss. Or lastly, maybe what makes a good Leader is someone who’s a good Head AND a good Boss. I could write an essay on this distinction (but will spare you!), and curious if, at a simple level, you see a difference, and what you mean by “Boss”.

    Reply
  34. Kate Brodock Avatar
    Kate Brodock

    Bob-great list, thank you! Just catching up on some unread RSS feeds(busy few weeks!) so my question is a touch delayed, but I have one quick one. Do you distinguish between “boss” and “CEO/Owner/President/insert-term-for-company-head-here”? I ask because “boss” to me says the person managing employees, engaging in organizational management, responsible for communication with employees. So, I actually *wouldn’t* count getting things done as part of the definition of boss, but definitely as part of the definition for head-of-company. If the Head is effective at getting the bottom line done phenomenally and has put in place a good manager to be my boss, great. Or, In the above examples, someone can be a great Head and a really lousy Boss. Or lastly, maybe what makes a good Leader is someone who’s a good Head AND a good Boss. I could write an essay on this distinction (but will spare you!), and curious if, at a simple level, you see a difference, and what you mean by “Boss”.

    Reply
  35. Kate Brodock Avatar
    Kate Brodock

    Bob-great list, thank you! Just catching up on some unread RSS feeds(busy few weeks!) so my question is a touch delayed, but I have one quick one. Do you distinguish between “boss” and “CEO/Owner/President/insert-term-for-company-head-here”? I ask because “boss” to me says the person managing employees, engaging in organizational management, responsible for communication with employees. So, I actually *wouldn’t* count getting things done as part of the definition of boss, but definitely as part of the definition for head-of-company. If the Head is effective at getting the bottom line done phenomenally and has put in place a good manager to be my boss, great. Or, In the above examples, someone can be a great Head and a really lousy Boss. Or lastly, maybe what makes a good Leader is someone who’s a good Head AND a good Boss. I could write an essay on this distinction (but will spare you!), and curious if, at a simple level, you see a difference, and what you mean by “Boss”.

    Reply
  36. Kate Brodock Avatar
    Kate Brodock

    Bob-great list, thank you! Just catching up on some unread RSS feeds(busy few weeks!) so my question is a touch delayed, but I have one quick one. Do you distinguish between “boss” and “CEO/Owner/President/insert-term-for-company-head-here”? I ask because “boss” to me says the person managing employees, engaging in organizational management, responsible for communication with employees. So, I actually *wouldn’t* count getting things done as part of the definition of boss, but definitely as part of the definition for head-of-company. If the Head is effective at getting the bottom line done phenomenally and has put in place a good manager to be my boss, great. Or, In the above examples, someone can be a great Head and a really lousy Boss. Or lastly, maybe what makes a good Leader is someone who’s a good Head AND a good Boss. I could write an essay on this distinction (but will spare you!), and curious if, at a simple level, you see a difference, and what you mean by “Boss”.

    Reply
  37. Kate Brodock Avatar
    Kate Brodock

    Bob-great list, thank you! Just catching up on some unread RSS feeds(busy few weeks!) so my question is a touch delayed, but I have one quick one. Do you distinguish between “boss” and “CEO/Owner/President/insert-term-for-company-head-here”? I ask because “boss” to me says the person managing employees, engaging in organizational management, responsible for communication with employees. So, I actually *wouldn’t* count getting things done as part of the definition of boss, but definitely as part of the definition for head-of-company. If the Head is effective at getting the bottom line done phenomenally and has put in place a good manager to be my boss, great. Or, In the above examples, someone can be a great Head and a really lousy Boss. Or lastly, maybe what makes a good Leader is someone who’s a good Head AND a good Boss. I could write an essay on this distinction (but will spare you!), and curious if, at a simple level, you see a difference, and what you mean by “Boss”.

    Reply
  38. Kate Brodock Avatar
    Kate Brodock

    Bob-great list, thank you! Just catching up on some unread RSS feeds(busy few weeks!) so my question is a touch delayed, but I have one quick one. Do you distinguish between “boss” and “CEO/Owner/President/insert-term-for-company-head-here”? I ask because “boss” to me says the person managing employees, engaging in organizational management, responsible for communication with employees. So, I actually *wouldn’t* count getting things done as part of the definition of boss, but definitely as part of the definition for head-of-company. If the Head is effective at getting the bottom line done phenomenally and has put in place a good manager to be my boss, great. Or, In the above examples, someone can be a great Head and a really lousy Boss. Or lastly, maybe what makes a good Leader is someone who’s a good Head AND a good Boss. I could write an essay on this distinction (but will spare you!), and curious if, at a simple level, you see a difference, and what you mean by “Boss”.

    Reply
  39. Kate Brodock Avatar
    Kate Brodock

    Bob-great list, thank you! Just catching up on some unread RSS feeds(busy few weeks!) so my question is a touch delayed, but I have one quick one. Do you distinguish between “boss” and “CEO/Owner/President/insert-term-for-company-head-here”? I ask because “boss” to me says the person managing employees, engaging in organizational management, responsible for communication with employees. So, I actually *wouldn’t* count getting things done as part of the definition of boss, but definitely as part of the definition for head-of-company. If the Head is effective at getting the bottom line done phenomenally and has put in place a good manager to be my boss, great. Or, In the above examples, someone can be a great Head and a really lousy Boss. Or lastly, maybe what makes a good Leader is someone who’s a good Head AND a good Boss. I could write an essay on this distinction (but will spare you!), and curious if, at a simple level, you see a difference, and what you mean by “Boss”.

    Reply
  40. Kate Brodock Avatar
    Kate Brodock

    Bob-great list, thank you! Just catching up on some unread RSS feeds(busy few weeks!) so my question is a touch delayed, but I have one quick one. Do you distinguish between “boss” and “CEO/Owner/President/insert-term-for-company-head-here”? I ask because “boss” to me says the person managing employees, engaging in organizational management, responsible for communication with employees. So, I actually *wouldn’t* count getting things done as part of the definition of boss, but definitely as part of the definition for head-of-company. If the Head is effective at getting the bottom line done phenomenally and has put in place a good manager to be my boss, great. Or, In the above examples, someone can be a great Head and a really lousy Boss. Or lastly, maybe what makes a good Leader is someone who’s a good Head AND a good Boss. I could write an essay on this distinction (but will spare you!), and curious if, at a simple level, you see a difference, and what you mean by “Boss”.

    Reply

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