Dealing with a Toxic Boss

By David Bradford
2012 | Case No. OB85
You can also find this case divided into A, B, and C cases. Ned was an upper middle manager in a major construction company. Six months prior, he was hired away from a competitor to develop the company’s market in the fast-growing southeast region. As it turned out, the major challenge was not with the market, but with his boss, Bill, Southeast Regional Director. The case describes Ned’s experience working with Bill and Ned’s analysis about how to handle the situation. After a meeting with Bill that did not yield any improvements, Ned decided to approach John, the company president, about the negative impact that Bill’s behavior was having on building the Southeast Region. The discussion with the company president did not produce any real changes either. Ned struggled with whether to continue raising issues about the impact of Bill’s actions on both business growth and employees or simply resign. This case is available for purchase from ECCH.
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