I was considering writing about the traits of high-quality leadership for my next series of blogs, but I decided that has been done too much. We all have worked for great leaders who inspire us, get more out of us than we knew was possible and still make us want to return the next day. These are the kind of leaders we not only want to work for, but they’re the kind of leaders we all want to be.
However, we’ve also all worked for those kinds of leaders who have inspired the “quiet quitting” movement. They’re the ones who make us feel like we are somehow less than them because they are “the boss” and that we should be thankful that they allow us to follow them. These are the ones who make us cringe and self-promise to never be this way in a leadership position.
Instead of talking about what makes a leader great, I thought this would be a perfect time to run down a quick list of what makes a leader poor. We can’t have terrific leaders without ones who miss the mark, so here are my Top 5 Poor Leadership qualities:
Poor Communication – If you can’t get your ideas, goals and plans across to a team, how can you expect them to deliver? More importantly, how can you expect there to be quality communication among team members if you’re not serving as the model? Above all else, a leader has to be able to inspire and direct. Somebody with poor communication skills will never be able to do that.
Micromanagement – I think this can also be looked at a combination of being a control freak and showing a lack of trust in your team. There’s a reason why you have a team, and there’s a reason why they will follow you – and why they won’t. I believe every person on a team has to have a sense of ownership. In a corporate setting, the custodian or receptionist has to feel as much of the team as senior management. Doing their jobs for them will not allow this.
Accountability – This is in all aspects of the job. If someone on the team is dropping the ball, they must be held accountable. And if you’re that person, you must be held accountable. A leader who feels that they are above the rules or above the same standards as the team is not going to have the necessary buy-in from team members.
Lack of Vision – This can be the difference between team members coming into work ready to take things into the future and coming into work ready to put in another eight hours so they can earn a check. A leader with a sense of excitement for the future is going to inspire. A leader who is also there for the paycheck is going to inspire the board of directors to look elsewhere.
No Follow-Through – It’s bad enough when a co-worker makes a promise that they don’t keep, but a leader doing it can be downright toxic. A leader must set an example and be where they say they will, do what they say they will and always be prepared. How can a leader expect their team to reach a goal if they don’t reach certain benchmarks along the way?
These aren’t the only negative character and management traits in poor leadership, but I think they are the ones that can sink the ship the fastest. Next up, we’re going to take a look at the very different stories of Amazon vs. Netflix, Kodak and a few other companies whose poor vision by leadership sunk them.