Not everyone in a leadership position deserves to be there; just like we have great leaders, we also have leaders who can best be described as “poor.” Unfortunately, most of us can’t seem to identify the specific factors that make a person a bad leader. But all of that is about to change! In this video, we will take a look at 15 qualities that will help you recognize a poor leader. Sounds good? Let’s get right to it! If you don’t feel like reading the article here’s the video version:
1
They Are Resistant To Change
Change is an inevitable part of life, and this is a strong mantra that most successful leaders live by. Great leaders understand that change is a necessary part of growth, and sometimes we do need to change how we do things to achieve different results.
However, poor leaders never want to change; this is because it requires them to leave their comfort zones. They believe that if something isn’t broken, then there really isn’t a need to fix it.
But what if this thing isn’t reaching its full potential, isn’t that enough reason for a change? Change comes with a certain level of risk, but it also comes with a certain degree of new opportunities!
If a poor leader is willing to see beyond the limited scope they have built around themselves, they stand a good chance at becoming a better leader.
2
They Lead For A Promotion, Not A Cause
Poor leaders don’t have an ultimate end goal in mind; they are usually too focused on a promotion, which in turn translates to a better salary. Poor leaders aren’t interested in saving the world, they do not have any cause that defines their actions and leadership policies.
Instead, they are focused primarily on solving the next problem, because of what it promises.
3
They Can’t Take Criticism
Every leader will be criticised, whether you like it or not. Sometimes, this criticism will come in the form of constructive feedback, and other times it might seem a little too harsh.
Now, how a leader reacts to either of these shows what type of leader they are; if they see this criticism as an opportunity for growth, then this is a sign of an inspiring leader – a leader who’s ready to learn from this mistake or event to prevent it from happening again.
However, if this feedback is met with nothing but disdain, scorn, and anger, the leader in question is no doubt a poor one.
Leaders like this see feedback and criticism as a sign of weakness, so they do everything in their power to avoid being criticised. Usually, these leaders are surrounded with individuals who feed them with the validation they are in search of.
4
They Are Selfish
Poor leaders are easily identified by their need to always have the world revolve around them. They always want the efforts of the team to be geared towards their own success!
But it gets even worse; they never want to be seen as weak so they don’t mind blaming the team for their mistakes! These leaders can also make decisions without involving the team, but when things go bad, they wouldn’t hesitate to blame the team for the misfortune.
What sucks the most about this sort of leader is their obsession with being right all the time! It wouldn’t be long before this poor leadership results into a toxic work environment, where the opinions, thoughts, and creative ideas of team members are quickly swept under the rug!
5
They Always Want All The Glory
We already think it’s bad enough that poor leaders adopt a selfish leadership style, it’s about to get a whole lot worse when you realise that a number of them also take all the credit for success! A poor leader never wants to be seen as a failure, even though failures never define us as humans.
Instead, they want to be seen as the perfect person who never makes mistakes, as that individual who does every single thing right.
Consequently, these leaders take the credit everytime things go really well, however, they always blame someone or something else when mistakes or errors happen.
6
They Don’t Have Core Values
Every great leader lives by a set of core values which are usually reflected in their leadership style. These values most times determine how they relate with other people, and how they react to certain situations.
However, when a leader lacks core values, one can say they are simply blowing in the wind, moved and easily swayed by others.
These core values define our behaviour, so what do you expect from a leader with no understanding of their behaviour?
This leader will eventually make decisions which wouldn’t just negatively affect other members of the team, but the entire company or organisation at large.
7
They Don’t Inspire A Change in Others
Great leaders always inspire a change in other people; they usually live a life so inspiring that others are motivated to make changes as regards their own life! Great leaders don’t just tell you to make a change in your life; instead they show you reasons to!
As humans, we are more influenced by results than words. This suggests that leaders who constantly clamour for change, but fail to reflect this change in their own lives will eventually inspire nothing in other people, especially the members of their team.
Furthermore, if members of a team are static and not improving, it will consequently lead to a lack of growth and progress, which in turn could run a company or organisation to the ground.
8
They Tell Others How To Do Things
An interesting quote from George S. Patton says, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
Telling people how to do things will only limit their creativity, while giving them the creative freedom will open them up to an endless flow of ingenious thoughts.
However, leaders who are excessively full of themselves always want their followers to follow their strict standards or methods, causing a lack of innovation and invention.
9
They Don’t Have A Vision
An certain story tells us of two brothers who left the supervision of their parents to survive on their own. Right before leaving, the first brother makes a decision to go with the flow; he says to himself,
“I’ll probably discover something interesting along the way, but for now I’ll allow time to do its thing.”
The second brother on the other hand decides to give himself a clear vision of where he intends to be in a few years. He doesn’t know how, but he set out into the world with nothing but a vision plan for the future.
A few years later, the first brother is still struggling to find meaning in a complicated world – while the second is a few steps closer to achieving the vision he outlined years ago. What’s the obvious difference between these two brothers? A vision, of course!
Interestingly, this is a core factor that separates great leaders from poor ones, the existence of a core vision. A lack of vision will produce a team with no direction, and a team with no direction is unlikely to produce positive results.
10
They Have A Reputation for Failure
Can you think of a leader who’s particularly known for failure? Such a leader is no doubt a poor one! What makes a great leader is the ability to make things happen, no matter the state of the team, or the circumstances around a situation.
Learning to accept failure is a part of leadership, however it becomes a problem when a leader is known for nothing but failure.
Not only does this show that they aren’t doing something right, it also reflects the shabby state of the team or organisation they are leading.
11
They Don’t Communicate
If you discover a leader who’s pretty bad at communicating, there’s a huge chance such a leader wouldn’t stay very long in that position.
Communication is the soul of working together, and when that soul is inexistent, several problems are bound to arise from this.
Communication keeps everyone in the loop, it allows the free flow of creative ideas, which in turn encourages innovation.
Bad leaders are usually not active listeners; they only give team members attention so they can get off their necks. They always want their ideas to be implemented, and the ideas of others are always seen as mediocre.
12
They Are The Know-It-Alls
It’s perfectly okay not to know everything, right? We mean, no one does.
Why then do bad leaders always try to make us think that they know everything? Great leaders are aware that they don’t know so much, so they are always open to the idea of learning new things.
In fact, they are usually extra curious about every bit, and this makes them know everything there is to know about a project!
With poor leaders, it is the direct opposite! Not only are they not knowledgeable about the most important things, they however claim to be! But if you point out their folly, best believe they are going to make you the bad guy.
13
They Don’t Show Up When It Matters
In our previous video about inspiring leaders, we mentioned that great leaders always show up, even when it is difficult because that’s when it really matters.
Remember what we said about looking bad? Bad leaders never want to seem that way. They never want to be seen as vulnerable or weak, nor would they like to take responsibility for the failures or shortcomings of their team.
Eventually, they wouldn’t bother showing up, they’d rather allow their followers to face the music, only to reappear when things are going great again. And just as you guessed, they’ll probably take credit for that too!
14
They Cannot Recognise Talent
What makes a great leader is an ability to see through people, an ability to see that special talent that makes a person unique. A good leader will see talent in an individual who’s been considered as talentless, and they can also help these individuals develop their newly-found talents.
Poor leaders on the other end of the spectrum are usually clueless, or just unbothered about developing the talents of their followers.
“My talent and skills are just enough for everybody else,” the poor leader says, not knowing that being a leader is never about being the most talented – it is in fact about organising talents to solve critical problems!
15
They Are Inflexible
Having core values and a vision doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t subject to change; if a good leader sees a reason to be flexible, they are definitely not passing it up. Being flexible opens you to several more possibilities, which in turn means more opportunities to explore.
How to identify a poor leader? They operate by a rigid leadership style, and they aren’t open to the possibility of changing it. But the fact remains that leaders who are more flexible in their approach are more likely to succeed.
And there you have it! At this point, we believe you already can identify a number of poor leaders in the political and economic world, plus you know what to avoid to prevent being a leader like them, right? Did you watch this video up to this point? Here’s the anticipated Number 16!
16
They Lack Self-Confidence and Awarenes
What’s that one thing that we all unconsciously look out for in leaders? Self-confidence! Wouldn’t it be kind of weird to be led by an individual who is highly doubtful about their own skills and talents? How exactly will this individual lead other people?
We hate to sound like the mean guy, but lack of confidence will get you nowhere as a leader. So if you aspire to be a leader someday, building your self-confidence and awareness is a step in the right direction!
Thank you for spending some time with us today, we are so glad you did! If you found value in today’s video, please give us a like! Hit the bell icon to never miss an upload, and don’t forget to subscribe!
