The 4 Traits Of A Bad Leader

Do you work in a toxic environment under bad leadership? If you do, and you choose to keep your job, there comes a time when you need to hold up the mirror and decide if it’s worth it according to Marcel Schwantes.

Sometime I will walk into an office and immediately pick up on the vibe of the room. It's that sixth sense that sends a signal that something is not right with this place and 9 out of 10 times, the work environment is toxic to the core. Its the simple things: people are not smiling, people are not talking, the room feels stiff with fright, and the person responsible for leading the company is quite comfortable with this kind of environment for their people.

It’s important to remember; just because someone holds a position of leadership that does not make that individual a leader; as a result, here are 4 traits of poor leadership you can look for according to Nicky LaMarco.

The Leader is a Bully

This is the most obvious sign of a bad leader. A bad leader may bully and intimidate employees, threatening them with termination if they do not do the work to the leader’s satisfaction. Bad leaders will often scold their employees for their mistakes in public and even criticize them for aspects of their personality or appearance, rather than the work that they are doing. The negative environment can cause extreme stress in employees and lead to negative psychological issues.

There is No Communication

A bad leader will not listen to their subordinates. They do not value any input from their employees. They will typically ignore emails and messages from their employees and spend long periods away from the office. Such leaders will place a low priority on listening to their employees, even cutting them off when they are voicing their concerns and feedback.

The Leader Tends to Micromanage

A micromanager is simply a leader who can’t resist the temptation to control and direct the tiniest actions taken by employees. They want to be involved in just about everything their employees do, and the effect is stifling. On the one hand, a micromanager will feel satisfied because everything will be done just how they want it. On the other hand, micromanagement can breed resentment in the employees as they feel monitored as if they were children. Micromanagers are this way because they are insecure about their abilities, or they are simply afraid of giving up their sense of control.

The Leader Has No Vision

When a leader lacks vision, he or she is likely to lack a lot of other important qualities as well, such as priorities, inspiration, and focus. Because they do not have a sense of direction, their employees won’t have a sense of direction either, which will lead them to exhaustion and a lack of productivity. With an unfocused team taking on unproductive tasks, there is hardly any impact for the company, and it seems to wallow in stagnation. The result of this is usually high employee attrition.

The problem with many organizations is that they are recruiting and promoting people into leadership positions who have no business being there. They can’t seem to recognize good leaders from bad ones which often leads to poor employee retention, a demotivated and uninspired workforce and a company that will forever be average at best.

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About Gifford Thomas

I am the founder of Leadership First and the author of The Inspirational Leader, Inspire Your Team To Believe In The Impossible. At Leadership First, we are committed to publishing the very best inspirational leadership quotes and articles to inspire our 250,000+ community of leaders to believe in the impossible, while creating an environment free from toxic, fearful and intimidating leadership. We believe everyone can and should enjoy their work, but it must start with the leadership leading by example. Follow our community of leaders HERE, and let's change the leadership status quo to help inspire and motivate our leaders to make a difference and create an organization their people will love.

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