I have learned over time that leadership is something that is bestowed naturally on a select few, and is a skill learned by a few others. With practice, good leadership is something that the latter can become automatic as the former. Conducting meetings, trouble-shooting and decision-making, encouragement of others, and many other facets of leadership may appear second-nature to the gifted one, but it’s only through repetition of sound principles that have been honed through practice over time. Through it all, it may come across as a gut reaction, but it’s really the sum total of experience in that specialized area.
You will typically find these characteristics in big corporations or organizations which are committed to hiring the best in their fields.
However, thanks to the tremendous luck that I have had over the years, I have had the wonderful experience of working with many not-so-gifted individuals. In fact, my experience with these leaders has shown me what not to do and what not to look for in a leader - people with habits that really do not do anything to empower others for greatness.
There are many things that we can do to be effective leaders, such as having a positive attitude, developing relationships with those around us, providing effective feedback, or perhaps teaching with a purpose. And, while we can go through the whole list of what it takes to be a leader, sometimes our lives can be made simpler if we had leaders who followed the “do-not” principles of leadership. I shake my head when I think of those who I have worked under, and stand amazed on how they survived their tenure in the workplace.
So here are just five areas that I have seen where you’re guaranteed to fail as a leader:
1. Egotistical or Wishy-Washy Decision Making
I had the chance to work with these two types of managers. They sit at opposite ends of the decision-making spectrum. The first attribute consists of the egotistical decision-maker, someone who makes a decision and then submits the decision for brainstorming. This is done in an attempt to sell the decision to his colleagues for the purpose of reassuring himself that he made a good decision and to “show” the crowd that he has it all together. This can work out well if the decision pans out to be successful. But most of the time it is not going to happen that way. They think that they have the crowd fooled that they know it all, but in truth, they are transparently dull. I had the chance to see this first hand by working with one person who already had the decision made before it was discussed. The sad part about this was that many good ideas were never implemented because of this person’s unwillingness to change. True leaders have a desire to know more and are constantly looking for ways to do things better by searching for ideas from others and asking genuine questions from his peers, even if it means showing the others that he does not know everything.
The wishy-washy decision maker is exactly that. He cannot make any decision (even a correct one) for fear of loss, either reputation, career, money, et cetera. In turn, he refuses to allow his colleagues to help with ideas or to allow input through the asking of good questions that could potentially solve his dilemma (see above, and see below as well). The person who I worked for had the tremendous fear of failing. He was constantly worried about his job security and didn’t want to make waves or perhaps make a costly decision. People like him fail to realize that a decision will continue to keep things in motion and, for the most part, maintaining progress. Real leaders know that there will be a few setbacks along the way but there will be more advancements too. This type of decision-maker tends to work for the type of leader described in #2 below.
2. Refusing to Allow People to Grow
I had a great experience with one who was constantly putting the clamps down on people whenever they offered input. Many times she tried to intimidate our group with her title and her “knowledge” whenever a meeting was held. It soon became a common feeling among us that our meetings were becoming a waste of time. Her biggest mistake was failing to take the attention off herself and encourage others to offer their points of view with confidence. She created a hostile environment with her unwillingness to take into consideration any idea that would benefit her and the small company of which we were all a part. She failed to learn to understand our thinking along with our talents for the jobs that we had. She discouraged thinking or problem-solving on our own because she wanted to be the hero to the client, not her team. By refusing to allow our team to be challenged, to think for ourselves, and to grow, she eventually drove us into just going in and doing our jobs and let things happen, and allow her to fix it all, because we were now mere cogs in a mechanism rather than the fuel that powered the engine. We could not learn anything new, and we all know what happens by not learning – we don’t grow, and over time become insignificant in our work. Ultimately, her inability to receive input also cost the company valuable clients; over time her key people left one at a time (myself included) like a conga line out the door, leaving her with a shell of a business that was once thriving and had potential for greatness.
Leaders are constantly looking for input and ideas, and are desirous of those who are willing to think for themselves. The best managers I have had were those who allowed me to make my own decisions to do what was best for the company and/or department where I worked. I made it my purpose to create less work for my boss and only provide solutions for problems as they arose, unless the problem was something beyond all our control.
3. Laziness
This is common among leaders. When I think of laziness, I tend to think of two people in particular. When I was a teenager, I worked for a aircraft dealership and fixed base operator at an international airport. I worked with two men - Carl and Mario. Carl was a grumpy old man, but he was a great example. Our job was to service general aviation aircraft, by fueling them and/or storing them on a airport ramp or in a hangar. In the early afternoon (we worked from 2-11) his job was like the rest of ours, but he oversaw the ramp and coordinated all the activity for the rest of the crew. He moved nonstop from the start of the shift until the early evening, when the desk crew called it a night and then he took over inside until the end of the shift. Even on the inside he was busy, tallying receipts, recording fuel logs, and taking inventory of aircraft stored at our facility. He had a belief that he could sleep well at night because he made sure everything was done correctly. His people skills left a lot to be desired, but he was fair and worked just as hard as anyone else, if not more.
On the flip side, Mario was a different story. Mario was a lot younger than Carl, and enjoyed spending as much time inside, behind the desk, talking on the telephone and socializing with anyone who was around, anything that could take him away from the work that we had to do. His people skills were obviously better than Carl's, but he didn't have the respect of the crew as Carl did. Whenever Mario was in charge, there were always complaints from the morning crew of fuel trucks left empty or unlocked, aircraft left untied or not put away in a hangar, early morning fuel orders not done, and many things that caused the morning shift to run behind, having to finish the job from the night before.
Leading by example is very simple, but few people are willing to do it. Those who are successful at this are mindful how people look at them and make sure that their best is done, not for the purpose of looking good to the others, but for the purpose of doing good for others. They always have the benefit of the doubt when an issue arises that is out of character with their performance, but will own up to the mistake if it is made, to the surprise of those around them.
4. Failure to Communicate
Years ago, I worked for a local medical center and was constantly amazed on how much our management team tried to keep our department in the dark about changes that were coming. Through many reliable sources and key people throughout the center, it was apparent that jobs were on the way to being cut and drastic changes were to be made. When confronted about the potential changes that were headed our way, the management team was constantly assuring us that there was nothing on the horizon and that there was nothing to worry about; that is, until the feared job cuts and changes in job descriptions were actually implemented. This caused tremendous distrust throughout the center and, as a result, job performance suffered and costs went up, creating more cuts and job changes. It became a downward spiraling effect, resulting in poor morale and the resignations of many fine people who went elsewhere for a better opportunity.
It was not always that way. At the time I started with this medical center, I had the privilege of working for a director who constantly reminded us of the expectations required of all of us as a team. She made it easy for us to continue on the path that was laid out for us. She was not only a communicator, but she also was a sound decision-maker and encouraged input from all of us on a regular basis. Her managerial style maximized performance and kept us aware of those things that would cause problems to our operation, and enable us to trouble-shoot the problems as they arose and fixing them before they became out of hand.
5. Blaming Others
It is absolutely amazing how this tends to be overlooked in management courses. One such manager had the quickest finger in the west, pointing it at others when things went wrong. Once again, this stems from fear of the person above them, afraid to make a mistake, developing poor decision-making skills. The saddest part of all is that this type of leader fails to take any type of proactive step in growing as a professional and spends the rest of their career in some type of middle-management position, never growing, blaming others, and making life miserable for themselves as well as those around them.
A successful leader will allow those around them to guide their decision-making process through input from those underneath him. They are not necessarily being controlled by their actions but they are just allowing the ebb and flow of their work performance to ascertain the needs that are required for the department at that time. By being proactive, they can anticipate the needs of their people and maintain a constant level of achievement.
All things considered...
Leaders are constantly looking for ways to do things better, utilizing the talent around them and empowering those around them (themselves included) to grow in all areas of abilities and talent. It is a never-ending challenge that really requires just a small amount of effort, but on a consistent basis, in order to keep the wheels, cogs and sprockets greased and moving along in the mechanism of life.
John Flores, also known as the Plain Brown Rapper, and owner and president of Company Si Consulting (as well as secretary and janitor), has a purpose of taking a somewhat less-than-serious look at the challenge of overcoming in the area of business, weight loss, donuts, personal relationships, Jesus, God, and alligator wrestling, not necessarily in that order. He created his blog and his business for people who are looking for encouragement during tough times, and it is his hope that if he can inspire one person to get through their valley, then he's served his purpose...but he would still like to get paid.
John Flores, also known as the Plain Brown Rapper, and owner and president of Company Si Consulting (as well as secretary and janitor), has a purpose of taking a somewhat less-than-serious look at the challenge of overcoming in the area of business, weight loss, donuts, personal relationships, Jesus, God, and alligator wrestling, not necessarily in that order. He created his blog and his business for people who are looking for encouragement during tough times, and it is his hope that if he can inspire one person to get through their valley, then he's served his purpose...but he would still like to get paid.
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