• Chris Williams is a former Microsoft VP of HR and a podcaster, consultant, and TikTok creator.

• He writes that bad managers are often self-centered and overly focused on their image.

• Williams also says that bad managers are so afraid of failure that their teams bury any evidence of it.

I've seen more than a few bad managers in my over 40 years of business, leadership, and consulting — including as the vice president of HR at Microsoft. Here are four traits I've seen in almost every one of them.

1. Self-centered

The most common trait I've seen in bad managers is a relentless focus on themselves. Everything is all about them. Whether it's driven by ego or panic, bad managers are always worried about how they appear to others.

Bad managers stress about how they look to their boss: Do I look strong or weak? Do they think I'm an idiot? How do my peers see me? What about those above my boss?

Bad managers fret about what their team thinks of them. They want desperately to be looked up to. They must have all the answers. Rather than focus on issues, it's all about appearances. They want to appear strong, unflappable, even invincible to their team.

A few managers do this out of ego. They need to be the center of attention, the focus of their world. They want everything in their team to be for their benefit. Perhaps to enhance their career. More often to stoke their ego.

But the egotists are the exception, not the rule. More common are the worriers. The nervous managers cowering under the weight of their own imposter syndrome. You can tell them from the egotists by their tentative approach to problems. Afraid of being exposed, they put on the bravest of faces. But it's just a mask. Worried what others must think of them. Not realizing how rarely others ever do.

Failing to see that it's the results that count, they worry about image. Their image. So, they try to control every aspect of their presentation to others.