In doing research for this article, I was bombarded with stories about candidates for the title of "the worst boss."

It shouldn't be surprising that subordinates are eager to tell on these "anti-champions" in the game of business.

John Grubbs, who has a master's in business administration, is a principal owner and consultant with ESG Training, LLC, an international training and consulting firm based in Longview. Send questions or comments about this column to Business Editor Jo Lee Ferguson.

Don't worry — I won't mention names. If the title makes you nervous, though, read on to see how you stack up as a boss.

Poor leadership has many roots. Insecurity, problems dealing with stress, denial and self-preservation are some of the more common causes. I call it the "roach theory," and I see it in many organizations in our area.

The "roach theory" predicts that people who need leadership development the most want it the least, and those who need it the least want it the most.

Roaches tend to run and hide when exposed to the light. That's no different from poor leaders avoiding the discussion about leadership because they are exposed and vulnerable. By contrast, the best leaders are always seeking to improve their leadership skills.

Following are what I have seen to be the five most common ways to earn the "worst boss" title.

The first step toward becoming a bad boss is to be a "punisher." Wait for one of your hard-working, best players to make a mistake. As soon as it happens, punish him or her severely. Let the employee and the rest of the organization know that mistakes are never acceptable. Doing so will instill fear in employees, and fear is the way to run a strong business. Or is it?

The second way to "bad boss stardom" is to punish everyone. Instead of confronting poor performers, take the easy road. Write a policy or create some generic rule that punishes everyone for the actions of the few. This cowardly form of management will certainly get you noticed. It also will help you avoid the confrontation that you fear without changing the actions of those determined to do things their own way.

The third way to becoming the "poor leadership guru" is to lose control. Use anger as your weapon to hide your lack of clear communication. Don't let employees know your expectations, and jump on them when the crystal ball they use to guess what you really want is on the blink.

The fourth step to becoming the "Monday morning leadership quarterback" is to conveniently forget the directions you provided and intimidate your team when things go wrong. Decisions are easier on Monday morning with the benefit of hind sight. Your lack of clarity that protected you when you were not really sure what you wanted is now your ally in kicking your subordinates while they are down.

The fifth way to earn your "sorry supervisor stripes" is to ignore the poor performers on the team. Make sure you always take advantage of your best players. Reward them with the most work, the worst schedule and the dirtiest jobs. This will reward those who do nothing and punish those you depend on. It is easy to hurt those who mean the most to us and avoid those who will take extra effort to deal with.

In closing, I want to share a story that might hit close to home for workers enduring the bad bosses of the world. If there is any comfort, it could always be worse.

A recent member in one of my classes shared a story about a past boss who perceived him as too "soft" as a leader. The boss went "on and on" about this junior leader not being tough enough. Eventually the boss got so upset that he asked the young leader to escort him onto the production floor. Once on the floor, the boss indiscriminately pondered employees hard at work. Upon selecting his prey, he approached the busy worker and fired her on the spot. Then, he turned to his junior leader and boasted of "that" being "how" to fire people and maintain control of the organization.

We often forget that control is really an illusion. As leaders we truly only influence others, and control is simply a word we use to describe a short-term response to a bad situation. The poor leaders of the world use control when they cannot influence the positive behaviors they seek. It is the last ditch effort to be successful in a job they probably never should have been selected for in the first place. But that is another story.