Failed Leadership

Volumes have been written about successful and effective leadership. I even wrote on the topic. So is failed leadership an oxymoron? Isn’t failed leadership just not leading? To me, failed leadership is identifiable via a number of characteristics.

Lack of common goal/purpose/vision. A leader’s inability to galvanize or align a team around common priorities or objectives is failed leadership. It results in chasing too many priorities, the crisis of the day/week/month, or a lack of any prioritization and just operating day to day. From my perspective, it also results from individually defining a purpose without engaging, inspiring or empowering a team to achieve the vision together.

Silo activities. Why do most football offenses huddle before each play? To get on the same page to ensure everyone on the offense is aligned. Without this, everyone could do their own thing resulting in chaos or in football terms, a failed play. Teams that are not aligned work in silos working to achieve their own individual priorities without a sense of the big picture or the common objective. This also results in misunderstanding of what one area is doing versus another – sometimes even working against each other unknowingly (or worst-case scenario – knowingly).

Lack of Communication. I learned while earning my MBA that lack of communication was never a root cause of failure but certainly it contributes to failure because of the two above characteristics. People who are not leaders, do not effectively communicate priorities, withhold information, do not trust enough to communicate, or communicate information in dribs and drabs without context. All of this results in misalignment, inefficient work trying to figure out why work is being done, or poor morale, again as a result of not understanding why work is being asked or assigned.

Hollow Charisma. Can charismatic rah rah leaders be effective? Sure, but their DNA must be grounded in authentic principles. Enthusiastic cheerleading leadership has a shelf life and wears out. People realize that splash and polish wear off. A shiny car with a rusty engine may get you across town but not across the country on a long-term journey.

Narcissistic over ego. This style is painful. These individuals believe they are the smartest people in the room and the sole purveyor of good ideas. All new initiatives or ideas must be approved by them. This hinders their ability to think broadly outside of their own sphere – regardless of the breadth of their position. They have blind spots preventing them from seeing opportunities. Worse, they do not listen, so the opportunities or points raised by others are ignored. Creative thinking and morale dies quickly resulting in turnover.

Homogeneity. Ineffective leaders surround themselves with people who think only like they do or share their own perspective. This results in group think and yes-yes thinking. Opportunities are lost because of lack of creative thinking, blind spots or operating with blinders on.

For those reading this, my recommendation to individuals seeking professional opportunities, if you sense this type of operation (notice again I did not say leadership) in your organization, run, don’t walk away. I have the knights from Monty Python and the Holy Grail in my head, “run away!!!” If you are unable to influence changes as a result of the above styles or behaviors, work your professional network to find an opportunity where you can influence positive outcomes. This does not mean all will be perfect but organizations with these types of individuals are toxic. They suck the creativity, energy and fun out of why you go to work – to make a difference or to do something that, in your mind, is meaningful.