Toxic Boss Diagnostic (Behaviour-Based, Rail-Focused)

Prompt v2.0

Toxic Boss Diagnostic (Behaviour-Based, Rail-Focused)

hfmlHRleadershipmanagementpromptpsychological-safetyrailstoxic-boss
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Trigger Phrase

Use prompt: Toxic Boss Diagnostic (Behaviour-Based, Rail-Focused)

Prompt

493 words
ROLE:
You are an organisational behaviour analyst and operations leader.

GOAL:
Diagnose what type of manager someone is dealing with using observable behaviours and systems impact.

RULES:
- No “vibes” diagnoses.
- No mind-reading motives unless supported by repeated behaviour patterns.
- Use neutral language: “behaviour”, “pattern”, “risk”, “impact”.
- Diagnose system effects, not personality labels.
- Provide rails and scripts that reduce harm with minimal confrontation.

INPUT:
1) Context:
[industry, team size, your role, remote/hybrid/onsite]

2) What changed:
[timeline + trigger, e.g. new manager started, reorg happened, workload spiked, behaviour changed after disagreement]

3) Recent examples:
[enter 5–10 recent examples, including exact words if possible]

4) Impact on you and the team:
[workload, stress, autonomy, mistakes, turnover, confusion, morale]

5) Constraints:
[need the job, cannot leave yet, HR exists, manager is protected, probation, visa, financial pressure]

6) Goal:
[survive, improve the situation, transfer, escalate, document, exit]

TASKS:
Step 1: Extract recurring behaviours and group them
Group the evidence into:
- Control / surveillance
- Public undermining
- Blame shifting
- Unpredictable urgency
- Punishing honesty / dissent
- Favouritism / inconsistency
- Boundary violations
- Weaponised process (rules used selectively)

Step 2: Score risk 0–3 for each
Score:
- Retaliation risk
- Psychological safety breakdown
- Blame culture
- Reality distortion / double-binds
- Boundary violations
- Unpredictability
- Isolation tactics
- Coercion / implied threats

Compute:
- Total / 24
- Risk level:
- 0–6 Low
- 7–12 Medium
- 13–18 High
- 19–24 Critical

Step 3: Pattern selection
Choose:
- 1 primary pattern
- 1 secondary pattern

Pattern options:
- Micromanager
- Firestarter (creates urgency + panic)
- Credit Hoarder
- Political Operator
- Insecure Gatekeeper (controls access, status, narrative)
- Chaos Farmer (keeps environment unstable)
- Retaliator (punishes dissent, uses threats)

For each selected pattern, provide:
- Evidence
- Typical moves
- What system outcome it produces

Step 4: Differential diagnosis
Be fair. What else could explain this?
- Crisis pressure
- Skill gap
- Misalignment
- Broken incentives

For each, state:
- What evidence would confirm it
- What evidence would refute it

Step 5: Response plan
A) 3 rails to install this week
Requirements:
- Low conflict
- System-focused
- Practical
- Each rail must include:
- Trigger
- Action
- Owner
- What good looks like

B) 3 boundary scripts
Requirements:
- Copy-paste
- Short
- Calm
- Non-combative

C) 3 documentation habits
Requirements:
- Facts only
- Timestamps
- Policy-safe
- Designed to reduce distortion later

D) Escalation decision tree
Include:
- When to stabilise
- When to escalate
- What threshold changes the recommendation

E) Exit checklist
Only include this if risk is High or Critical.

OUTPUT FORMAT:
1) Executive verdict (one paragraph)
2) Risk score table + total
3) Pattern(s) + evidence
4) Differential diagnosis
5) Rails + scripts
6) Escalation tree
7) Next questions (max 5)

SAFETY:
- Avoid illegal advice.
- Don’t encourage high-risk confrontation.
- If harassment, discrimination, or threats are present, state that clearly and recommend formal routes.

IMPORTANT:
- Wait for user data before starting.
- Do not invent context.
- Base conclusions on repeated behaviour patterns and system impact, not single incidents unless severe.

Before & After

❌ Without this prompt

Unstructured request with unclear constraints and inconsistent output.

✅ With this prompt

Reusable, testable prompt/skill with clear trigger, inputs, output format, guardrails, and pass criteria.

Install Instructions

Copy the prompt text. Paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any AI chat. Fill in bracketed placeholders with your details. Run and review output.

Test It

Test command:
Trigger with: 'Test the Toxic Boss Diagnostic (Behaviour-Based, Rail-Focused) with this input: [provide a short real example]'. Confirm output is specific, structured, and useful.
Expected output:
Verdict: High risk. Pattern: Firestarter + Credit Hoarder. Risk score 16/24. Rails: Two-lane intake, decision owner rule, office-hours boundary. Scripts: ‘Happy to help. What should I deprioritise?’ Escalation: document → skip-level → HR.
Pass criteria:
  • Output is specific to the input provided — not generic. Output follows the stated format and length. No invented statistics, facts, prices, or dates. Placeholders are not left unfilled.

⚠️ Guardrails

  • Do not invent statistics, prices, laws, medical claims, or financial advice. Do not leave placeholders unfilled in output. Flag when inputs are too vague to produce a quality result — ask for clarification.

📁 Context File Tip

Team Memory file

⚠️ Common Failure Modes

  • May become generic, over-confident, miss constraints, over-automate, or produce output that needs fact checking.

🔧 Fix Prompt

Tighten the goal, add examples, add constraints, specify the output format, and ask the model to list assumptions before final output.

🎛 Available Modes

Quick Detailed Critic Final

🔌 Compatibility & Requirements

✅ Works offline
📎 Needs uploaded files
📁 Needs project context
👤 Needs human approval
Approval point: Before publishing, sending, spending money, changing systems, or making commitments.
Required tools: File analysis

⚡ Automation

📋 Upgrade Notes

Upgraded for Prompt Hub Pro v9.9.5 scoring, skill metadata, importer compatibility, and reusable agent/workflow presentation.

💡 Suggest an improvement

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