Every worker has a bad boss story—but why are they so common? In this two-part series, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin dig into the archetypes of dysfunctional leaders and the systems that keep them in power. Because bad bosses aren’t accidents—they’re often a predictable response to organizational pressures.

In Part 2, they take on the Ghost—the slippery, conflict-avoiding boss who’s always hard to find when decisions need to be made—and the Self-Promoter, the credit-stealing leader who thrives on claiming other people’s work as their own. From the frustration of canceled one-on-ones to the demoralization of stolen ideas, Rodney and Sam unpack why these archetypes persist, what drives their behavior, and how you can protect yourself (and your team) without burning out.

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Mentioned references:

• Part 1 of Bad Boss conversation
• "Sam and Wilbur": DF Miniseries Ep. 6 check in round
• "antiwork subreddit"

00:00 Intro + Check-In: What is the phrase going on your tombstone?

03:37 Recap of part 1

04:46 Bad Boss 4: The Ghost

08:24 Dealing with The Ghost

10:52 Bad Boss 5: The Self-Promoter

11:49 Source of the credit-stealing behaviors

15:24 Dealing with The Self-Promoter

21:08 What all bad bosses have in common

23:26 Self-preservation is always a valid strategy

25:56 Wrap up: leave us a review and send us your bad boss stories!

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.