How To Identify A Bad Leader – So You Can Avoid Becoming One

Correctly leading a team is one of the most important aspects of achieving all the necessary objectives of your workplace. Furthermore, a good leader keeps their team motivated and creates a good work environment. Nonetheless, the idea of “good” leadership is something that remains very subjective. Each of us has an image in our head of how a good leader should and should not be.

Sometimes, however, the image that we want to convey to our team isn’t the same one that they may have of you. We have all met a bad boss at some time in our lives, making it far too easy to identify the characteristics that can make someone a bad leader. If you want to improve your leadership skills, it’s important to try to avoid these bad traits. In turn, you can find yourself improving the relationship with your team and ultimately lead them to success.

Lack of empathy

Empathy is about putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, and unquestionably, it’s a fundamental skill for a good leader. If you can’t be empathetic, then it will be very difficult for your team to consider you a good leader, largely because you’ll fail to take into account the opinion of your team when you want to take action or when you want to influence them positively. 

Lack of empathy can also show up in the actions that a poor leader takes, such as in situations like business meetings. Due to the fact that they are in a position to be able to do so, they can be inclined to engage in bad behavior, such as discrediting meeting minutes or interrupting speakers. It’s the opposite of being productive, and all this does is hinder the development of a meeting and disrespect those in charge of it.

If you’re a poor leader, then you may always be thinking first about what interests you — and not paying attention to the needs of others. So, if this sounds like you, then it’s recommended that you try to talk with and relate more with your team. You can learn the strengths and weaknesses of each one, and build upon that to direct them on the best path for the betterment of your workplace.

Fear of change

In challenging times, when things are not going well or when changes are coming, it’s normal to feel afraid. The fact is, sometimes you simply can’t control it, and there’s no such thing as a brave leader who isn’t afraid of anything. All leaders, because we are humans first, are afraid of something. And the fear of change is very normal, too. However, the problem arises when this fear makes you unable to try new things because you don’t want to leave your comfort zone.

When you’re already in a leadership position, you’ll likely have to make difficult decisions regarding work or certain team members. If you’re not willing to make those necessary changes, it can show signs of weakness. Your responsibility is to help your team see that the changes you’re implementing are for the company’s sake, and it’s not anything personal. The first one who has to adapt to change is yourself, and you need to convey your confidence to your team without hesitation.

Being too authoritarian

Some people are too strict and authoritarian, and this ties in directly with those kinds of people who mistakenly believe that these traits make them strong leaders. They feel compelled to tell everyone exactly what they have to do, all the time. It’s one thing to be in a leadership position and need to be able to influence others. It’s another one entirely to believe that to achieve that, you have to unrelentingly bully everyone on your team.

Maintaining discipline isn’t a bad thing, and being strict with people to a certain extent is absolutely reasonable under certain conditions. But it’s important to recognize that there’s a very fine line between being an organized and disciplined person and being someone who is unyielding and puts too much pressure on others. That won’t make you look like a good leader. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s going to make people get mad at you and not feel comfortable working alongside you.

Lack of humility

If you believe that you’re the best and that you’re the only one who does things right, then you clearly lack humility. As a leader, you have to trust that other people are also capable of doing just as well (or in some cases, even better) than you can. If you assume otherwise, and you arrogantly believe that everyone else needs help because they are not as good as you, you just may find yourself doing the work of others.

You have to trust people and know that they all have different abilities and characteristics. If you help them to develop all the skills in their position, then you’ll be able to delegate tasks better. In turn, you can feel confident that your goals can be achieved. On the other hand, it’s very difficult to work with pushy people who make others feel inferior. Be humble, and don’t forget that you can always learn from anyone.

Some of us are natural-born leaders, and others have to learn how to become a leader over time. It can take practice, and it’s normal to have missteps along the way. However, if you fail to see your own shortcomings, it can hinder your progress and prevent you from being the kind of leader you may aspire to be. And if you take some time to self-reflect and find ways to grow as a leader, then you may just find yourself leading your team with both strength and compassion.