History Main / PointyHairedBoss

** Although, as the story progresses he seems to be going through CharacterDevelopment to be less of a BadBoss, as he actually is putting effort into trying to be nicer to his subordinates, and he has shown several moments of competence, such as negotiating an alliance with the Juggle Elf tribe all on his own. His biggest weakness is his recklessness.

* Toothpick from ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime''. Although he's the resident ManChild, he is also [[BadBoss cruel to his own employees]]. He also [[{{Expy}} the game's version of]] [=CutMan=].EXE from MegaManNTWarrior.

Very often such a boss is not merely incompetent but [[BadBoss evil]]; the kind of guy who takes all the credit for his employees' success but blames them for his own failures. In these cases he can be ''more'' contemptible than the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEO]] whom he serves: while the CEO is only concerned with padding the bottom line (thereby keeping the company humming along), the Pointy-Haired Boss will sink to any depths to protect his job--a job little better than that of his employees, yet one they are completely unqualified for--and winds up doing more harm than good. On other occasions, they may have been competent and serious about their job at one point or another, but a combination of having to deal with a bunch of angry employees with (frequently unfounded) axes to grind and higher-ups who were around only to micromanage to hell and back and act as nuisances eventually drove them to stop giving a fuck altogether and be just barely competent enough to not attract the ire of the upper management.

->''Maybe you could tell me what is going on. And please, speak as you might to a young child. Or a golden retriever. It wasn't brains that brought me here, I assure you that.''
-->-- John Tuld, ''Film/MarginCall''

-->--John Tuld, ''Film/MarginCall''

All too often this is TruthInTelevision. Compare with the military's GeneralFailure.

* Lt. [=LaGuerta=] in ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' got her job on talent for political maneuvering, and is in way over her professional head, showing no apparent ability as a detective. Her behavior toward subordinates could also qualify as harassment in some cases (such as her nowhere-near-subtle sexual overtures toward Dexter). This was introduced in the TV adaptation as well, but was gradually dropped over the first season and disappeared completely by the middle of the second, along with her infatuation with Dexter.

* Pumpers from ''WesternAnimation/Breadwinners'' due to [[FakeUltimateHero thinking as himsef as]] TheAce and for having a [[SmallNameBigEgo massive ego]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' TV series. See the Comics Strips section for more on ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' in general.

* Department of Death Boss Don Copal in ''GrimFandango'' might not have any actual hair, but if he did, it'd be pointy.

** Most strips actually are reasonably sympathetic to the PHB, inasmuch as it's not ''his'' fault he's woefully incompetent. Catbert is more explicitly antagonistic; the PHB is just trying to be a manager and failing horribly at it. Then there's the CEO of the company - the guy who the Pointy-Haired Boss reports to - who's just as incompetent as he is, if not more so.

Very often such a boss is not merely incompetent but [[BadBoss evil]]; the kind of guy who takes all the credit for his employees' success but blames them for his own failures. In these cases he can be ''more'' contemptible than the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEO]] whom he serves: while the CEO is only concerned with padding the bottom line (thereby keeping the company humming along), the Pointy-Haired Boss will sink to any depths to protect his job--a job little better than that of his employees, yet one they are completely unqualified for and which does more harm than good. On other occasions, they may have been competent and serious about their job at one point or another, but a combination of having to deal with a bunch of angry employees with (frequently unfounded) axes to grind and higher-ups who were around only to micromanage to hell and back and act as nuisances eventually drove them to stop giving a fuck altogether and be just barely competent enough to not attract the ire of the upper management.

Very often such a boss is not merely incompetent but [[BadBoss evil]]; the kind of guy who takes all the credit for his employees' success but blames them for his own failures. In these cases he can be ''more'' contemptible than the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEO]] whom he serves: while the CEO is only concerned with padding the bottom line (thereby keeping the company humming along), the Pointy-Haired Boss will sink to any depths to protect his job--a job little better than that of his employees, yet one they are completely unqualified for and does more harm than good. On other occasions, they may have been competent and serious about their job at one point or another, but a combination of having to deal with a bunch of angry employees with (frequently unfounded) axes to grind and higher-ups who were around only to micromanage to hell and back and act as nuisances eventually drove them to stop giving a fuck altogether and be just barely competent enough to not attract the ire of the upper management.

Very often such a boss is not merely incompetent but [[BadBoss evil]]; the kind of guy who takes all the credit for his employees' success but blames them for his own failures. In these cases he can be ''more'' contemptible than the CorruptCorporateExecutive whom he serves; while the CEO is only concerned with padding the bottom line, the Pointy-Haired Boss will sink to any depths to protect his job--a job little better than that of his employees, yet one they are completely unqualified for. On other occasions, they may have been competent and serious about their job at one point or another, but a combination of having to deal with a bunch of angry employees with (frequently unfounded) axes to grind and higher-ups who were around only to micromanage to hell and back and act as nuisances eventually drove them to stop giving a fuck altogether and be just barely competent enough to not attract the ire of the upper management.

Very often such a boss is not merely incompetent but [[BadBoss evil]]; the kind of guy who takes all the credit for his employees' success but blames them for his own failures. In these cases he can be ''more'' contemptible than the CorruptCorporateExecutive whom he serves; while the CEO is only concerned while the bottom line, the Pointy-Haired Boss will sink to any depths to protect his job--a job little better than that of his employees, yet one they are completely unqualified for. On other occasions, they may have been competent and serious about their job at one point or another, but a combination of having to deal with a bunch of angry employees with (frequently unfounded) axes to grind and higher-ups who were around only to micromanage to hell and back and act as nuisances eventually drove them to stop giving a fuck altogether and be just barely competent enough to not attract the ire of the upper management.

Very often such a boss is not merely incompetent but [[BadBoss evil]]; the kind of guy who takes all the credit for his employees' success but blames them for his own failures. In these cases he can be ''more'' contemptible than the CorruptCorporateExecutive whom he serves; while the CorruptCorporateExecutive sold his soul for money, power and fame, an evil Pointy-Haired Boss [[EvilIsPetty sold his soul for nothing]] but a job little better than that of his employees, and doesn't seem bothered by it. On other occasions, they may have been competent and serious about their job at one point or another, but a combination of having to deal with a bunch of angry employees with (frequently unfounded) axes to grind and higher-ups who were around only to micromanage to hell and back and act as nuisances eventually drove them to stop giving a fuck altogether and be just barely competent enough to not attract the ire of the upper management.

* The Magic School's Headmaster in ''{{Furmentation}}''.

* The head developer of ''Clichequest'', the satirically stereotypical MMORPG that ''TheNoob'' is set in and around, is an idiot, {{Jerkass}} and SmallNameBigEgo to boot.
* Mike in ''BetweenFailures'' is self-aware and trying not to be one of these, but his management training was inadequate to prepare him for the job, and those in charge of him have fobbed him off on one of the least important branch stores rather than trying to help him.
* Dr. Phage in Webcomic/AwfulHospital, though it's not so much a case of idiocy as it is a case of being [[CloudCuckoolander insanely weird]] even by the hospital's standards, along with a bad, bad case of BlueAndOrangeMorality. His thought process is so darned alien he looks like an utter moron.
* George Fennec of ''KevinAndKell'' is owner of Hare-Link, but only got that position because his daughter, the former owner, wanted to avoid a potential conflict of interest situation when her mother wanted her to promote her new stepfather. He makes hardly any useful decisions for the business except for once filling in for Kevin as a representative for a deal with Carrot Computers, and tends to be quite distracting. When he passes out after it dawns on him that his pregnant rabbit wife will likely have a litter of babies rather than just one[[note]]It really is just one, though[[/note]], Kevin notes that they can finally get some work done.
* Horns, the ''WeaponBrown'' version of Dilbert's PHB is decidedly not like the original. For starters we're introduced to him as he's [[spoiler: ''[[KlingonPromotion murdering Mr. Dithers]]'' to take charge of The Syndicate]]. Then again [[spoiler: he forces the MadScientist version of Dilbert to rush CAL-v1.N and HOBS' awakening and ignores "Dilbert's" warnings that the two are unstable and uncontrollable]].

* Dr. Phage in Webcomic/AwfulHospital, though it's not so much a case of idiocy as it is a case of [[CloudCuckoolander insanely weird]] even by the hospital's standards, along with a bad, bad case of BlueAndOrangeMorality. His thought process is so darned alien he looks like an utter moron.

* Dr. Phage in Webcomic/AwfulHospital.

* ''WebVideo/MisterDeity'' is often treated as this to the CelestialBureaucracy and the universe itself. He tends to [[GodIsInept rely on needlessly complicated and not at all thought-through plans]] and [[JerkassGods knowingly allows all kinds of awful things into his creations even when there's no real reason to]].

* ''TheWire'' has several outstanding examples, both in city government and the Baltimore Police Department, with almost all authority figures fitting in somewhere between CorruptCorporateExecutive and PointyHairedBoss. Special note has to given to Maj. Valchek, however, who is rewarded for his incompetence by [[spoiler:being made police commissioner]].