The Ten Most Common Failures of Bad Leaders

The flaws of bad leaders are examined in an article by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman in the Harvard Business Review. They focused on the most prominent shortcomings of poor leaders. They examined 360 degree feedback reports on over 11000 leaders and analysed and prioritised the reasons given for poor performance. The results are as follows:

The worst leaders:

1. Lack energy and enthusiasm
2. Accept their own mediocre performance
3. Lack clear vision and direction
4. Have poor judgment
5. Don't collaborate
6. Don't follow the standards they set for others
7. Resist new ideas
8. Don't learn from mistakes
9. Lack interpersonal skills
10. Fail to develop others

The authors conclude, 'These sound like obvious flaws that any leader would try to fix. But the ineffective leaders we studied were often unaware that they exhibited these behaviors. In fact, those who were rated most negatively rated themselves substantially more positively. Leaders should take a very hard look at themselves and ask for candid feedback on performance in these specific areas. Their jobs may depend on it.'

Paul Sloane writes and speaks on leadership issues. He is the author of The Innovative Leader

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