At Transform’s People, Culture, and the Future of Work series, workplace strategist, author, and inclusive leadership advocate Mita Mallick shared her perspective on leadership, bad bosses, and creating more human-centered organizations. Known for her bestselling book Reimagine Inclusion and her upcoming release The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Good Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses, Mallick offered candid lessons on parenting, management, and the environments that shape leadership behaviors.
Key Takeaways — Mita Mallick at Transform
- Bad bosses aren’t born—they’re made by environments, pressures, and lack of training.
- The “Chopper Boss” kills joy by redoing work instead of coaching.
- Grief and humanity matter—leaders who support employees in tough moments earn loyalty.
- Toxic positivity erodes trust by ignoring real challenges.
- Inclusion is retention—celebrating people creates a lasting competitive advantage.
From Bad Bosses to Better Leaders
The inspiration for Mallick’s new book came when she rediscovered a list of her worst managers from her twenties. That sparked a realization: we may not just survive bad bosses—we sometimes become them.
Her book identifies 13 archetypes of poor managers, such as:
- The Chopper — constantly redoing employees’ work.
- The Toxic Positivist — covering reality with hollow “good vibes.”
- The Boss Who Couldn’t Grieve — unable to support employees in moments of loss.
Mallick reminds us that bad bosses aren’t inherently bad people—they’re often untrained, unsupported, and shaped by toxic work environments.
The Mid-Level Leadership Trap
Echoing Adam Weber’s warning about untrained managers, Mallick highlighted how high-performing individual contributors often get promoted without preparation. Instead of leading, they revert to doing the work themselves, burning out and taking their teams down with them.
The solution is simple but critical: organizations must make management training a business priority, not an afterthought.
Culture, Context, and the Power of Vulnerability
For Mallick, leadership is about more than skills—it’s about self-awareness. She challenges leaders to:
- Acknowledge when anxiety fuels micromanagement.
- Ask for feedback with specificity (“Here are 3 things I’m working on—what do you see?”).
- Accept feedback without defensiveness to build psychological safety.
“Context matters,” Mallick insists. Leaders who explain the why behind their behavior change how teams perceive them—and build stronger trust.
Inclusion as a Competitive Advantage
Despite the backlash against DEI in some circles, Mallick makes it clear: inclusion isn’t optional. It’s both a moral and business imperative. Companies where people feel celebrated, valued, and connected to purpose will outperform those that don’t.
She recalls leading a struggling business unit and never once updating her résumé—not because results were perfect, but because the inclusive culture made her stay.
Final Thought
For Mita Mallick, the future of leadership lies in balancing humanity with accountability. Bosses can either erode employee confidence or unlock untapped potential. Organizations that invest in leadership training, embrace vulnerability, and prioritize inclusion will create resilient, loyal, high-performing teams.
“The best retention tool,” Mallick reminds us, “is making people feel like what they do truly matters.”
