Bad Leadership - Part 1

“Watch out now, take care
Beware of greedy leaders
Who take you where you should not go.”

(from George Harrison, Beware of Darkness)

The desire to be a positive and impactful leader has created an entire industry on leadership development. The content of the vast majority of leadership development offerings is based on the skills that we need to develop.

While books and seminars may be helpful, there is nothing like experience for teaching us how to lead. And if we have a learning mindset, we can learn in any situation – including bad ones. In fact, I think I learned more from bad leaders than good ones. I learned what not to do.

In her book, Bad Leadership, Harvard professor Barbara Kellerman develops a framework for understanding several forms of ineffective and/or unethical leadership.

While the book emphasizes leadership, she makes a compelling case concerning the role of followers in creating, allowing, and perpetuating bad leadership.

The seven types of bad leadership are:

1. Incompetent: The leader and some of his/her followers lack the will or skill to sustain effective action.

2. Rigid: The leader and his/her followers are stiff, unyielding, and unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information or changing times.

3. Intemperate: The leader lacks self-control and is aided and abetted by followers who do not intervene.

4. Callous: The leader is uncaring or unkind; he/she ignores or discounts the needs of the rest of the organization, or of stakeholders.

5. Corrupt: These leaders lie, cheat, or steal their way to the top position putting self interest above all else.

6. Insular: They disregard or minimize the health and welfare of those outside the core group.

7. Evil: Some leaders and their followers commit atrocities and/or tragedies.