[oldE]

I had a boss once who seemed to be incredibly negative about suggestions. I didn't understand him until one day he called me to chew me out over my failure to deliver on one of the projects he had assigned. After he hung up, I started thinking about the pile of work he had assigned and was angry enough to call him back and point out he had assigned more than I could be expected to handle. To my surprise, he laughed and told me the next time I felt he was making unreasonable demands, I should let him know.
After that I got to know him much better and came to realize he was insecure. His negativity was his way of giving himself time to make up his mind. He lasted another year or so in that management position then got shuffled off to record keeping position.