The Devil Emails at Midnight: What good leaders can learn from bad bosses by Mita Mallick (Wiley £22).
Wall Street Jornalist Mita Mallick explains that bad bosses aren’t born – they are made. They are a product of their circumstances, and our author admits even she was a bad boss once (and I think we all have been one too)!
As the title explains only the devil boss emails at midnight, and she wants to make sure that devil doesn’t become you.
Through the 13 chapter we encounter 13 bad bosses. Who hasn’t worked with ‘the boss who cried wolf because everything is urgent’, or ‘the boss who was incredibly kind and completely incompetent at his job’.
But remember your boss, bad or good has the most significant impact on your mental health – more than your spouse or partner. That is because, you spend more waking hours with them than anyone else! Mallick explains the average person spends a third of their life at work – that’s 90,000 hours, so you need to made sure it is a happy inclusive place.
Left to their own devices a bad boss can ultimately break your spirits, but she doesn’t want that to happen.
Now you may feel every bad boss you experience will make you stronger, maybe even a better leader and a better person. But for Mallick leadership is an honour, and leadership is fragile and humbling. Leading others should be a privilege.
And the best story about a boss – well it was her’s of course, after she lost her father! Shouting at security guards simply doing their job, cancelling meetings because she didn’t want to face everyone, and emailing her team and colleagues late at night! She ticked these and many other boxes.
PQ rating: 5/5: one of my favourite books of the year! A very human story about how real people just don’t seem to be able to manage power. Kindness should not be left behind on your way up the career ladder.
PQ magazine reviews a new book each month – next month we take a look at Ideas Don’t Die, Companies Do.
