Halloween season brings out our appetite for the spooky — but the scariest character in higher education this month might not be a ghost or a goblin. It might be the boss down the hall. A recent Inside Higher Ed piece catalogs sixteen recognizable “toxic boss” archetypes drawn from the authors’ combined decades in academic leadership, from the Clueless Boss who never quite grasped what the role required, to the Weathervane Boss who agrees with whoever spoke to them last, to the All About Me Boss who claims every win and shares none of the credit.
None of us aspires to see ourselves on that list — which is exactly why it’s worth a quick, honest self-check. The authors close with practical strategies for anyone reporting to one of these figures: protect your boundaries, keep a paper trail, and resist the urge to vent on social media. But the more valuable exercise for leaders may be reading the list looking for themselves first.
Read the full piece and see if you recognize anyone — including yourself.
