How to get Ahead on the Job - NOT

How do people get ahead in the workplace? One way seems to be by making their subordinates miserable, according to a study released on Friday.

In the study to be presented at a conference on management this weekend, almost two-thirds of the 240 participants in an online survey said the local workplace tyrant was either never censured or was promoted for domineering ways.

"The fact that 64.2 percent of the respondents indicated that either nothing at all or something positive happened to the bad leader is rather remarkable -- remarkably disturbing," wrote the study's authors, Anthony Don Erickson, Ben Shaw and Zha Agabe of Bond University in Australia.

First of all, I don't buy this. I do believe that some bad bosses do get ahead and aren't punished for bad behavior - after all I worked with one of the all time great bad bosses (see Bleedership). But I believe in the end they are seen for who they are (my boss was eventually fired, although it was 1 month after I quit).

For the sake of discussion though, let's pretend the above study is correct. How should this change our behavior?

It shouldn't. We should not be caught up with what others are doing. We need to work on ourselves and be the best worker and person we can be.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2