Have you worked for Mr. or Ms. Stupe?  Stupe is another Gen Y addition & it’s pronounced Stupee.  Short for Stupid. 

Yes, believe it or not,  you may work for a boss that’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.

When I started my career, there was a saying, “Screw up to move up.”  Do any fellow Boomers remember that saying? We’d use it every time an incompetent person got promoted. Back then, like today, it is often easiest for a company to get the stupid person out of the day-to-day and out of the way by promoting him. Not a smart move, but it happens. Mr. Stupee is ineffective running the team. Somebody else, usually a direct report(s), is the brains of the operation and allows Mr. Stupee to get away with his incompetence.

Discovering that you work for Mr. Stupe was shocking back in the day & it’s even more shocking today.  This is the type of thing most young people don’t realize when they are interviewing for a job.   Because they don’t know what awaits them as insiders, they don’t know what to ask  to try & find out.  It’s so important to ask the questions.  Not only is it eye opening & valuable to know what you’re getting into but did you know it gives interviewees a leg up in the interview process?

More  about that in our next & last post in the series.  Batty boss #5: Mr. Snarly – the worst of the bunch.