The Addict
Work is his drug. This unstoppable gunner lives to work, staying late every night, arriving early every morning and on the job during the time in between. Forget weekends and holidays, this freakish battery bunny goes on and on and has been known to send work-related e-mail at 2 a.m. on weekends and has never missed a day of work — not even the day he had triple bypass surgery.

The Barbarian
She's persistent and aggressive. She thrives on other people's fear of her and cultivates that image of herself. She's a dictator who shoots down your idea before you finish proposing it. She's a tyrant who makes impossible demands of her subordinates and gives them almost none of the information or time necessary to comply — then publicly berates staff for not delivering. And she enjoys it. In fact, she's kind of a sadist.

The Softy
The extreme contrast to The Barbarian, this boss avoids confrontation and is careful not to offend anyone. She's humble and her management style is guided by the principle that feelings are more effective than facts. Often, a boss of this ilk relishes the clichés heard at the latest management seminar. It's true, you can't spell success without "U." Remarkably, there is no "I" in team. A poster with a kitten clinging to a tree limb hangs on the office wall for motivational purposes.

The Clown
Characterized by third-rate hacky jokes, minor hijinks and brazen pranks, this guy puts humor before work: He's the one spending all his work hours looking for a new gag to play or titillating gossip to spread. Because he has little time to actually do his job, you're the one staying at work late each night to pick up the slack so he's not sacked … which you wouldn't do for just anyone, but hey, this guy is a real laugh to have around.

The Amigo
Forget that he's your superior, whose decision it often comes down to for a pay raise and even termination. He's more your pal than your boss. The buddy boss simply wants you to like him. He's your BFF: best friend forever. Of course, while a certain amount of camaraderie is good, it's probably best not to let your guard down.

The Two-Face
This boss will praise that brilliant idea you had for the organization, and then turn around to his own boss and take credit for the idea. But it's OK, because this boss says it won't happen again and even promises to repay your hard work in your next annual review with a year-end bonus — until he flat-out denies having ever said anything of the sort.

The Cheerleader
Leadership may be about getting people excited about a common goal and enabling them to achieve it, but this boss — characterized by an overly positive attitude and enough team spirit to choke Richard Simmons — takes it to a whole new level. No matter how gloomy the outlook, "Buck up, trooper, the team is doing terrific."

The Buzz Machine
Whatever the trend or acronym, this boss has heard about it and wants you to get on it right away. Sharing similarities with The Flip-Flopper (not listed here), she also gets biweekly revelations about the next big thing that is going to "take this department to the next level." That top-priority initiative announced last month? Go ahead and forget about that.

The Maverick
Here summed up by David Brent from BBC's The Office: "People see me, and they see the suit, and they go, 'You're not fooling anyone.' They know I'm rock and roll through and through." And sometimes the boss really is. More often than not, though, it is wishful thinking and yearning for the days before he sold out.

The Historian
This old-schooler dwells on bygone years, the old days, "the way things used to be." No matter the evolved course of the global world, this boss stays true to the "original vision" of the company, which is continually resurrected by quoting the chapter, page and verse of some battered old scroll ostensibly responsible for "leading the business to where it is today."

The MIA
Also known as The Invisible Manager, she always seems to be missing in action. Like an absentee landlord, she just never seems to be there. And because no one knows where she is, office rumors fill the void, cultivating a mythical status for this boss that instills both fear and bitterness among employees.

The Idiot
He is clueless. He is in way over his head. He is so incompetent, it makes you want to scream. He exists simply to stomp the life out of his intellectually superior and more innovative subordinates. And this type of boss is becoming increasingly prevalent (at least in the minds of subordinates); nearly a quarter of workers believe they are able to do a better job of managing than their boss, according to a 2006 poll by Investors in People, with one in three desperate to swap their boss if they could.

The Perfect Boss
A myth.




Resources and Additional Reading: Monster.ca and Inc.com