Sometimes power goes to people's heads, even the little scrap of power involved in being a manager. Too often, managers, especially new managers, see being a manager as a license to give free rein to behavioral urges that were hitherto kept in check. This often boils down to using their employees as props to work out their own psychological issues, and this can take many forms:
They treat employees as a captive audience when they're in the mood to drone on about what they did on the weekend or other aspects of their personal lives, and spend time during meetings and in other contexts indulging themselves in this way, without ever listening to what other people may have to say.
They unconsciously model themselves on their parents in the way they interact with employees, and reenact the questionable behaviors their parents indulged in with them.
They force a certain cherished image of themselves on employees, generally a completely fantastical one, and expect them to reinforce...