Margaret Heffernan discusses 10 habits of incompetent managers:

1. Bias Against Action. There will always be reasons not to act, but a good manager has to be decisive and actually has to display a bias for action.
2. Secrecy. Secrecy leads to a very political environment and shows people below you that they cannot be trusted.
3. Over-Sensitivity. If you’re always worried to hurt your staff, you probably won’t have the courage to fix what’s wrong. If you see a problem, it is your duty as a manager to address it.
4. Love of Procedure. Procedures are there for a purpose, to help expedite things so the business can run more smoothly. If procedures become the problem, they have lost their purpose.
5. Preference for Weak Candidates. If you feel threatened by qualified candidates when comes the time to hire or to recognize the contributions of people below you, you may not have what it takes to hold your position as a manager.
6. Focus on Small Tasks. As you go up, you need to delegate and focus on your core responsibilities. If you focus on the wrong things, it leads people to wonder whether you have a sense of direction.
7. Allergy to Deadlines. Deadlines are commitments you make to yourself and to others. Failure to follow them shows a lack of commitment and achievement.
8. Inability to Hire Former Employees. If you’re a good manager, you probably had people working for you and that respect you. If you fail to attract any employees to follow you in your new position, it leads to wonder what your subordinates think about you. That’s definitely not a sign of a good manager.
9. Addiction to Consultants. A good way to put off taking decisions or putting the load of the decision-making process on someone else’s shoulders.
10. Long Hours. Good management means the ability to pace yourself and have a long-term sense of direction. Working very long hours is one of the biggest signs of incompetence actually.

10 Habits of Incompetent Managers, OttawaCitizen.com

The article referenced below makes a joke on the back of U.S. Vice-President Cheney to the effect that the latter has been caught many times falling asleep during important events. That drop of humor, however, was meant to lay the foundation for a more serious issue, which is that we all tend to “slow down” between 2 and 4 p.m. That’s why, in many countries, workers actually have the right to take a nap. Yes, a “right!” I’m not talking about Mexico, but countries like China also.

That being said, instead of having recourse to short-sighted tips to stay awake like poking your arm with your pen to wake you up, taking it upon yourself to transcribe what people say during the meeting to keep your mind active, taking a walk before a meeting to prevent the inexcusable, or preparing yourself a nice cup of coffee at least 40 minutes before a meeting (yes, it takes 40 minutes for the caffeine to take effect)… maybe we should include into our daily routine a moment where we allow ourselves to actually take a short “sleep at work.”

Nodding Off on the Job: How Not to Pull a Cheney, The Globe and Mail