Still an Ass.

Experience is making the same mistake over and over again, only with greater confidence.’ - Anon

This phenomenon is common in bad bosses.

Bad bosses rely almost exclusively on positional power to operate. If they did something once and did not personally register any adverse consequences, then their experience becomes Truth.

They think ‘I became a boss because I did this thing.’

Add ‘x’ years to their ‘logic’, and it becomes:

‘I spent x years doing this thing and was rewarded by being made the boss’.

It’s also highly likely that the thing they did for x years was so menial or inconsequential that not only did their errors go unnoticed, the experience offered them little to no learning or growth to enhance their understanding of the workplace or world.

There’s a quote attributed to Napoleon when one of his officers demanded promotion because he’d faithfully served in his position for five years. Allegedly Napoleon pointed to a donkey and said:

‘See that ass? He’s been an ass for five years. He’s still an ass’.