This is really a specialization of another item, but I felt that this deserves its own entry.

There is nothing worse than being hit with a surprise at review time. I mean it. As far as managerial misbehavior goes, this the equivalent of criminal negligence.

A manager's primary responsibility (to subordinates) is to communicate, clearly and promptly, anything that might have a negative impact on an employee's career withing the company - perception, complaints about behavior, poor performance, bad manners, poor taste in clothes, inability to drink as much as the boss, whatever.

Make sure that you keep your expectations a secret. You didn't really want your subordinates (yecch, I hate that word!) to know what you want, did you?

So, do you ensure that shit flows downhill?

Your role as a manager and leader is to ensure that your troops are protected from the bullshit. Your job, should you decide to accept it, is to block the bullshit.

Provide a serene, peaceful, and secure environment in which your troops can go out and decimate the enemy - or would you prefer that they spend their time watching their own backs instead?

You never fail, right? That's how you became a manager!

You're human, aren't you? That means that you WILL make mistakes, and that those you manage will see them and recognize them as such.

Refusal to acknowledge and accept responsibility for mistakes indicates an inability to learn from them.

Nothing is more devastating to team morale than a manager who "can do no wrong". This is the path to defensiveness, avoidance of responsibility, and backbiting. If you set the tone by never acknowledging your own failures, you can expect the same behavior from your team.

So go ahead, paint a rosy picture of all things.

In case you need to see the latest reports on mass layoffs: Link