In my experience the bully gets promoted because the people he is in charge of, will work harder (or differently) in order to prevent an outburst. People don't chat or discuss things at work because they're always afraid of the next round of victimisation. Individuals don't speak up about his/her mistakes or bad policies because that will get you his/her undivided attention. He/she will play one person off against another, spreading false rumours and generating mistrust, so people don't talk to each other. This "silence" gives the impression that a team is working well and is content. Thus the bully gets the reputation for being a good manager and is promoted accordingly.

Sometimes - as was the case of *Keith Danvers-Colqhuoun, he's challenged and put into a job where he's not in charge of anyone. Sometimes there is no-one of a suitable grade willing to take on management of a particular department. Sometimes, there are section managers who will give people a second chance and a managerial position because they are the only ones with the right qualifications and experience....

At the time Keith was appointed, we had a department of 12. After 6 months, his divisive tactics had made 3 groups of uneven numbers who didn't speak to each other, 2 were on long term sick leave with stress related illnesses, 3 had left the company, and 1 was a basket case who decided there was nothing else to lose and fought back.

He was about to be presented with an official bullying charge when he went on holiday for 4 weeks. Due to a death in his family, he didn't come back for a further 6 months - just long enough for the charge to expire. During this time a new manager was appointed and Keith was promoted sideways... a position of more techinical responsibility but no people to manage. He now makes peoples lives miserable further up the chain by complaining how things were better when he was in charge and what he'd do if he were reinstated. He cannot be dismissed because a bullying charge cannot be made to stick - he chooses his victims carefully, as he does his proteges.

Keith is presently "grooming" a young man in my office - this man Joe Rodgers-England* already has a very high opinion of himself, does very little actual work but lots of training courses. He is a great fan of 'The Apprentice' and 'Dragon's Den' and sees nothing wrong in a manager reducing a worker to tears in order to get a job finished. He spent over 3 hours bitching about people interferring with his desk when in reality, the department head investigated his working practices after he made a mistake causing a £80,000 overpayment to a company. He is becoming Keith, but more so, because he has the ambition to rise rapidly through the ranks. So far, he has been passed over twice...

LTS

(*real names... is it only a coincidence that they both use a double-barrelled name when their relatives working in the same company but not department don't....?)