I once had a boss who occasionally terrified me. He left passive aggressive notes on our desks and when he got angry — he cursed, yelled, kicked the garbage can and threw things. Believe it or not, he wasn’t the worst boss I’ve ever had.

That distinction goes to someone with a much more tranquil demeanor.

He was a nice person and soft-spoken. He wasn’t a yeller, and he didn’t belittle people or lose his temper frequently, which are traits often associated with a bad boss.

In fact, he was quite the opposite, but this is what made him a bad boss.

His quiet ways contributed to poor communication and avoidance of conflict; he was disorganized and didn’t hold staff members accountable. When issues were raised, he promised to make improvements, but usually didn’t follow through.

And because of these things, he didn’t resolve problems in the office and they festered.

He did have some good qualities — he was an extremely hard worker and he often took on tasks that others weren’t willing to do — however, the bad outweighed the good.

Perhaps the worst thing about my bad boss was that he didn’t realize any of these things, or if he did, he never did anything to improve or to make himself a better boss, or a good leader. He didn’t take any initiative to learn, and he didn’t seem to know or understand that development is important for staff members and himself.

He only seemed to be concerned with production and meeting deadlines. It didn’t matter whether the product was good, as long as tasks were accomplished. But usually they weren’t done well or to the best of everyone’s abilities.

As a result, I left a job that I loved to get away from this bad boss. This is one of the top reasons why people leave jobs.

Don’t let this happen to your staff members.

Velsoft’s latest softskills course — From Boss to Leader — can help. It’s aimed at bosses who want to become better in their roles, who want to learn how to become a good leader.

The course discusses the differences between good and bad bosses, the behaviors of an effective leader, how to lead by example, the importance of good communication, and tips for success.

I really wish this course had been available back when I had that job, and that my former boss had taken it and put his learning into practice. It would have made the workplace a much happier, more productive, and overall better place.