Denis Wilson at Fast Company has a fascinating piece on how being a not-so-nice boss will make your company better. Wilson notes a 2011 study concluding that disagreeable people are more successful, earn more money and are perceived as better leaders. Paralysis can also set in when a company's culture becomes too consensus-driven:
Nice people tend to be too considerate and afraid to initiate structure, which can be trouble for a startup trying to establish itself as a legitimate business. Livingston cited Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg as a good example of someone who realized that if he wanted to continue as the creative, likable boss in flip flops, he needed to have a bad cop around to bust some heads. "He hired [Sheryl Sandberg] from Google, and she whipped everybody into shape. They were pretty chaotic before that."
Read Wilson's article, "Why Being A Meaner Boss Will Help Your Company—And Make Your Employees Happy," at Fast Company for insightful tips on building structure and monitoring employee performance. Share in the comments any stories you have on the plusses and minuses you've experienced when working for a "mean" boss.