THE TOP-10 CHARACTERISTICS OF LOUSY LEADERS

If you look at the major news stories in
business, politics, diplomacy, whatever, it’s pretty hard to miss that most of the crises we face are crises of leadership.

I once worked for a man who couldn’t pull the trigger on a project, ever. I would bring him a request with all the supporting documentation. He would ask me to rerun it. When I came back, he would want it rerun again, and again.

It was like an endless doom loop of
frustration. I could never get him off the dime. By the time he approved it, the opportunity was lost, and he would blame me for missing it. It was utterly dispiriting.
I’ve worked for a few spectacularly bad
bosses in my time. And as a corporate
executive I’ve had others equally bad
occasionally working for me.

Maybe it’s no surprise, but whether it’s those leaders in my immediate experience or the ones I read about in the news, I see the same failures and mistakes over and over, and each one has a direct impact on getting the results we want.

I’ve arranged them here as the top-ten characteristics of lousy leaders. These are all traits to avoid—or unlearn if you already have trouble with them:

1. They don’t have enough
   confidence to lead at their level.
   The boss I mentioned at the start was
   like this. He couldn’t decide because
   he had no faith in his decisions.

2. They’re arrogant, assuming they
   always know what’s best. It takes
   confidence to lead. It also takes
   humility. Many leaders think they’re
   confident when they’re really just
   pigheaded and proud.

3. They’re disorganized. I’ve worked
   with some hard-driving, capable
   leaders who hamstrung themselves
   by never getting organized. I reported
   to one leader like this, right up until I was promoted above him. The first
   thing I did was fire him.

4. Their words and actions erode
   trust, even with their supporters.
   When I fired the boss I just
   mentioned, this is the primary reason
   for my decision. I could never count
   on him as his direct report. I certainly
   didn’t want him reporting to me.

5. They over-promise and under-
   deliver. This one affects more than
   just politicians. People leading up in
   an organization often do this this
   because they are trying to impress
   those above them, failing to realize
   that by under-delivering they are
   shooting themselves in the foot. And
   people at the top fall into the trap by
   over-using promises as a way to
   ensure team loyalty.

6. They don’t articulate a clear
   vision. No one wants to follow in the
   dark. It’s impossible to motivate
   people who feel in a fog.

7. They don’t enroll others in their
   initiatives. No. 7 is related to No. 6.
   Some leaders just expect people will
   follow them just because of their
   position. Wrong. If a leader can’t
   enroll others, failure looms.

8. They’re not transparent. Openness
   encourages honesty. How often do
   we see the opposite playing out in
   business and politics? Scandal is only
   the endgame. But how many bad
   calls are made before the news
   finally breaks?

9. They’re blind to what’s happening
   in their own organizations.
   Insulation is fine for the walls of your
   house, but not for leadership. To lead
   requires visibility. Without it, you’ll
   find yourself blindsided and making
   major blunders.

10. They don’t hold people
    accountable—especially
    themselves. If a leader avoids
    responsibility and won’t hold their
    team accountable, they’ll shipwreck
    the organization. Accountability is
    essential.

Pick your crisis and you’ll usually find one of these ten traits of lousy leadership in action, often many of them all at once. Bad leadership traits go together.

Source: Michael Hyatt