Is your team’s performance slacking off? Here are the 6 most obvious signs that there is bad leadership:
Strong leadership has always been a driving force of a company’s growth. A leader can make or break the company’s growth. Leadership is important for a business to grow but what will happen if there is bad leadership? How do you tell that you have a bad leader managing your business? Here are six signs of failed leadership that you should take note of:
- Self-centered leadership
This is when the company’s efforts, ideas and goals are always leaning towards the betterment of the leader only. It is all about how they will look good and boost their ego. Sometimes, they conceal their care as “watching out for the company’s best interest” when in fact what really just matters to them is how they will look good to others. They make decisions without consulting others and do not give credit to people who worked hard for the company. But instead, they only give credit to themselves.
2. Not open to change
A bad leader is not open to change. New ideas are not easily accepted. Bad leaders hate leaving their comfort zone. They are close-minded and suggestions are always met with resistance and negativity. With this, the company becomes stuck and unable to innovate which means lesser competitiveness in the ever-changing market.
3. Cannot lead themselves
A bad leader is like an empty shell. They like to give out directives and instructions but hate doing the dirty work themselves. They lack discipline, focus and drive. Bad leaders are not dedicated to their own goals so how much more with the company’s goals? They are inconsistent and they hate to commit.
4. Cannot handle feedback
The best way to detect a bad leader is to give them feedback. A bad leader cannot handle criticism. They feel that giving feedback to them means a personal attack and a dare to their power. They cannot accept constructive criticism because for them, it makes them look inadequate. Because of this, workers around this type of leader are afraid to speak up. They will fear honest feedback and so they won’t have access to actionable feedback which can help them grow. If problems don’t get revealed, then they can never be fixed and the team will become stuck with no room for growth.
5. Does not stand by to the company’s core values
Having core values in your company is essential since it is the baseline of your business. They guide your thinking, your business decisions and how you and your employees should behave. When your leader does not act in accordance with the company’s core values, it will heavily affect the results. Your leader’s decisions will heavily affect the company in a bad way.
6. Cannot motivate growth among team members
A leader should be someone who can motivate his/her team members. He/she should be able to inspire others to become leaders in their own right. A leader should help make a guide for others so they can grow within the company and within themselves. If a leader doesn’t do this, they won’t be able to create a place where individuals can grow. If there is no growth then a company cannot reach its full potential.
Bottom line is, there are a lot of reasons for a company to fail. However, good leadership always has a good impact on a business. We should always watch out for signs and symptoms of bad leadership to avoid causing bigger problems in the future.