Qualities of a Bad Leader

We started down this path by looking at some of the Essential Qualities of Leadership then we took a hard look at the importance of Leadership in Management. Since we have the foundation in mind, let’s dig into a few of the qualities of a bad leader so we have just as clear a picture of what we don’t want…

Let’s be honest, we can learn from every single person we interact with! Sometimes we’re provided with amazing lessons of how we can develop ourselves in order to make a lasting positive impact on everyone around. But we have just as many, if not more, examples we should avoid duplicating at all cost…

Just about a decade ago, a few situations were brought to my attention where someone in a role with a moderate amount of position had used their title to put a few folks in a very inappropriate spot. Because I believed it completely unacceptable, I took the details I had about these scenarios to the closest point of contact I had access to who could assist in resolving those issues and preventing anything similar from happening again. That particular person was far more interested in saving face and brushing it all under the closest possible rug than helping the people who had been impacted. I’ve never been one to roll over when principals are involved so I proceeded to take the issue to the person who had some authority over them and could have easily resolved the entire matter. Rather than addressing the actual issue, the two of those chose to cover for one another, as well as the individual responsible for the extremely inappropriate behavior, and did everything in their control to push me aside for calling attention to it in the first place.

Before I go on, I’ll share that all of this occurred just before I took several courses on employment law. Had it happened a year or two later, those folks would have had an entirely different fight on their hands…

The main thing that situation taught me was that my actions, and even a decision to avoid taking action, could have a significant impact on everyone around me. By standing up and addressing the issue, even some of the closest people to me had to deal with some tough consequences. But each of those folks who knew what was going on stood behind and respected me for how I attempted to deal with it. The ones on the other side of the proverbial fence seemed to go on with their lives as if nothing had ever happened…

Notice that I said seemed to!

When we carry leadership responsibility, a little bit or a lot, our decisions ALWAYS impact the people we’re responsible for leading - whether they’re aware of our decisions at the time or not. And sometimes the most difficult situations we’re faced with provide us with amazing examples of the bad leadership qualities we need to avoid!

The way that situation unfolded created a pretty rough road for me and Cindy to navigate for the next year or two but it ultimately led to some of the most amazing opportunities we’ve ever had. And while it looked like the folks who were responsible for the inappropriate situation got off scot-free at the time, we continue to watch the law of sowing and reaping play out…

In the next few messages, we’ll take a look at a few more qualities of a bad leader that can be alert to and work to avoid moving forward!