5 Easy Hacks to Become The Worst Leader. Ever.

You must be pretty curious about what constitutes a bad leader if you opened this article. Dare I say, you may even feel worried that you are one.

If so, you have my respect. Not many are willing to ask themselves if they are good or bad leaders. There is an inherent fear of acknowledging that they may not be doing as good of a job as they thought they would.

I believe that leadership is more than just a role, status, rank, or position of authority. I see it as a responsibility to take care of others, and to do it with the understanding that it is a privilege to do so.

I guard this philosophy and hold it close to me because as a leader myself, I am always questioning if I am doing right by the members of my organisation who work so hard to ensure that we are sustainable and providing an excellent service to those who believe in us.

Over the years as both a leader and trainer, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in the way leaders choose to behave and have noted down the easy-to-do, hard-to-heal habits that create leaders who diminish the greatness of organisations and the people who run them. What's interesting is that they all stem from a certain place of insecurity, hence the reason why even great leaders behave as such. And yes, even Captain America and Iron Man were diminishing leaders on their own part.

Let's dive into it.

1. Have a serious and deep need for certainty.

Leaders with a deep desire for certainty stand to face the challenge of making timely decisions and taking the right course of action. Ambiguity and uncertainty are big parts of the job, so a leader must be able to come to terms that they will experience a sense of insecurity when they do not have the answers.

Putting themselves in a position to know everything and have a need for all the right pieces in place often leads to missed opportunities or worse, the inability to be agile enough to adapt to changing circumstances which almost always leads to the doors closing.

Solution: As a leader, you need to manage personal expectations. It is not wrong to set high standards for yourself, but you must also be able to set healthy boundaries in your pursuit of success so that you don't feel choked up when the road ahead becomes foggy and unclear. Rather, you would find yourself in a space of calm because there is room for creative thinking on how you are going to move forward.

2. Mask all problems with positivity.

This hits me in the heart because positivity has always been the driving force of how I am like as a person, not just as a leader. Over the years, what I've come to learn is that leaders who constantly project a positive image and ignore problems may create a culture of denial and avoidance. All of this starts with an insecurity around negative environments, creating a certain discomfort when things don't look as pretty as they should be. What's unbeknownst is that is can create a loss of respect for the leader as there is a failure to confront the issues at hand.

What was meant to be inspiring and motivational can lead to a situation where the lack of accountability and foresight creates a leader who diminishes their organisation because all they see are Sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns!

Solution: Acknowledge and accept that pain is a better teacher than positivity. Leaders who over-leverage on positivity to keep the organisation running are usually the ones who run away from problems themselves because of the pain that they don't want to feel. I think it's a little sad because these are leaders who wish the best for others, but are not able to make much of an impact because of their "hero syndrome" that makes them want to save everyone from the pain they wish to avoid themselves.

3. Never resolve any conflicts.

These are the leaders who are more in denial than those mentioned above. Leaders who avoid or ignore conflicts unknowingly allow them to fester and escalate, often leading to high tensions, team dysfunction, and decreased productivity within the organisation. This typically happens because the leader does not know how to understand why conflicts happen in the first place, let alone resolve them.

This sense of conflict avoidance stems from a certain insecurity around strained relationships, and the failure to see that opposing views are important to a growing organisation.

Solution: Understand that it is not about resolving conflicts per se, but at least making the effort to get to know all sides to a story first, and then coming to a proper conclusion that everyone can agree on. The resolution is the part that comes after being impartial and having the guts to say "we've hit a bump in the road, but we're going to get through this somehow."

4. Let shiny object syndrome lead your business.

This one happens way too often. Leaders hopping on to every last new trend that impacts their business. I believe that leaders should be updated of what is happening in the market, but they need to be cautious of what they are adopting into their business. Leaders who are easily distracted by new ideas or trends may lose sight of their organisations core mission or strategy, and act conversely without realising it.

This creates a lack of focus and direction and typically leaves everyone hanging with projects that are half-assed because no one knows when the next big idea will hit that causes the leader to make yet another shift in direction.

Solution: Get clear on why your organisation exists, and then understand if a new trend is going to be of benefit to you. Just because something is popular in the market does not mean that it is meant for your organisation. I believe trends should be hopped on to, but ONLY IF the leader is super clear of how to make it work for them, and is able to see the value that it will bring to feed the greater moral purpose of the organisation.

5. Never apologise for your mistakes!

Some of you will feel called out for this. Across my work and experience, there has never really been a leader who understands the power of a sincere apology when they have made a mistake. There is the tendency to feel that "I am the leader/boss, why should I apologise?"

If you have evert thought that to yourself before, I say shame on you. You're better than that.

NOTHING is more diminishing than a leader who does not know and understand the importance of being able to take responsibility and ownership for a mistake and the consequences that it has brought about to others. It cannot be the case where those under us make a mistake and get blasted for it, but when you as the leader make a mistake it's something to be laughed off.

Solution: Learn to admit for when you have contributed to a mistake, especially if it was one where more than 1 party had to suffer. Admitting mistakes and apologising are not a sign of weakness. Conversely, they demonstrate a true sense of humility and a willingness to learn from others - both of which I believe are traits ALL leaders should have. It starts with you acknowledging and accepting your role in a mistake and then admitting it to everyone else not as a sign of false humility to gain approval, but from a place of sincerity for you know your actions have negatively impacted others.

I stand by what I share here with you today for one simple reason. I believe that leadership is a responsibility to take care of others, and the understanding that it is your privilege to do so. A failure to understand that only means that you have no business being in a position where you can influence others. It is a responsibility, a commitment, and a promise that you make when you take up a mantle that requires you to be a person of influence, to make great changes as you set the direction forward.

I look forward to a world where leaders are able to lead with humility, ownership, and conviction, where they are able to stay buoyant in a world that wants to drown them with one wave of problems crashing after the other.

I hope you can be a part of that world too.

Until the next one,

Stay Buoyant.

Shawn.

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