7 Problems Insecure Leaders Cause

"Insecure leaders never develop people. They replace them." ~ John C. Maxwell

Note: These 7 Problems are an excerpt from my book, MAXIMIZE Your Leadership Potential: Moving Beyond Management & Supervision.

7 Problems Insecure Leaders Cause

1. Employee Turnover - Insecure leaders are a major reason for employee turnover. Numerous research studies have revealed the #1 reason people leave an organization is because of the relationship with their direct boss. There's nothing worse than reporting to an insecure leader. They terminate the good, strong team members, and they cause good, strong team members to quit. Either way, those that can truly help lift the organization and team are prevented from doing so by the insecure leader.
2. Employee Disengagement - Insecure leaders create distrust with their team members, their peers, their boss, and everyone else they interact with. It doesn't take people long to realize an insecure leader is the first to take credit for anything the team does well. They are also the first to blame the team when things don't go well. As a result, the team is indirectly trained by the insecure leader to withhold information and ideas. The team members only follow because they have to, and they only do what they have to.
3. Lack of Communication - Insecure leaders do not openly and freely share information, doing so would only add to their insecurity. They don't want to help their boss, peers, or team members look good in any way. They want those on their team to know only what they need to know to do the job, and unfortunately, sometimes even less. Insecure leaders are afraid their team will learn more and become an even bigger threat.
4. Finger Pointing - Insecure leaders are quick to point the finger of blame at anyone other than themselves. They don't only point fingers at those reporting to them. They point fingers at those that report to other leaders, at their own peers, and at their boss and their boss's boss (of course, behind their back where insecure leaders do most of their talking). The insecure leader's tactics cause others to waste time and energy defending themselves.
5. Lack of Teamwork - Insecure leaders do not value team work because the thought of having others share their ideas openly may reveal the leader's lack of knowledge. Insecure leaders think they are supposed to have all the answers. The insecure leader also doesn't want his/her thinking to be challenged in front of others. In their mind, someone challenging their thinking would only weaken their already weak position. As a result of the leader's insecurity, teamwork is discouraged using many different excuses, methods and tactics.
6. Lack of Succession Planning - Insecure leaders do not have a plan of succession. The thought of training and developing someone to take their position goes against every fiber of their being. When asked about succession, they simply name the person on the team they think can do the best job, but they are not intentionally developing them to move up the ladder. They want to keep their team members right where they are doing exactly what they're doing.
7. Low Morale - Insecure leader's actions create an atmosphere of low morale. The six areas mentioned above reveal themselves throughout an organization as low morale. Even if team members want to work at the organization, the insecure leader has taken away their hope for the future and replaced it with anxiety about the present. Team members come to the company hoping to be respected, to matter, to advance, and to grow. However, insecure leader's value creating anxiety among their team. They leverage their position in threatening ways to create and maintain an anxious tension among the team.

Insecure leaders are like a cancer within an organization and should be improved or removed.

My first goal is always to develop high impact leaders. Then, help them develop any insecure leaders on their team. As a last resort, I want to help high impact leaders see the need to remove any insecure leaders that do not have a desire to be developed. All insecure leaders have the ability to grow and develop, but some simply don't have the desire. They first make their choices, then their choices make them.

Don't stop here. Order MAXIMIZE Your Leadership Potential now for yourself and/or your team. It is full of leadership nuggets to take you to the next level and beyond. It's an easy, quick read with 30 chapters, 3 pages per chapter.

"Insecure leaders never develop people. They replace them." ~ John C. Maxwell

Note: I planned to end the blog here originally. But, I'm going to continue exploring the meaning and context of the quote for those that want to go a little deeper since there were a lot of questions, thoughts, and comments related to my original posting of the quote.

What is the context and meaning of this quote?

Let's look at the two sentences that make up the quote separately.

"Insecure leaders never develop people."

Insecure leaders are insecure because they have not developed themselves.

Leaders that won't develop themselves can't develop others.

Leaders that don't value developing themselves won't value developing others.

All of the various insecurities a person, with or without a position of authority, has can always be traced back to a lack of character development (formal leadership development). Many formal authority leaders have never read a single leadership book or attended any type of leadership development training. They think their position makes them a leader. It doesn't. Most blame the company for not developing them instead of accepting the responsibility for developing themselves. This is just an excuse. They can develop themselves like I and many others have done.

For various reasons, insecure leaders feel threatened by others, especially those that are developing themselves. They are also easily threatened by anyone that seems to know anything they don't. If you choose to begin developing yourself, be prepared because you will make a lot of insecure leaders nervous.

The root cause of insecurity is a lack of character development.

Insecure leaders are weak and feel threatened from above by the boss, from the sides by their peers, and from below by those they fear will take their highly coveted leadership position. Insecure leaders are a sad bunch and do tremendous damage on a daily basis. And unfortunately, many organizations are filled with them.

Many say leaders are insecure due to a lack of competency. That may be the case. But, if there's a competency issue, it can always be traced back to a character issue which has prevented the leader from developing the necessary competency.

Character development is the foundation of effective, secure leadership.

"They replace them."

"Insecure leaders never develop people. They replace them." They are replacing them for two reasons. They are either fired, or they quit (leave the team or the company).

Insecure leaders sometimes terminate/fire those they feel are threatening them in some way. The employee being fired may be totally surprised and may not understand why they are being let go. Very rarely is the truth told by the insecure leader, so the team member is made to look like the problem. These situations usually cause a lot of confusion and frustration among the entire team and the team member being let go.

"Why?" is a question often asked because it doesn't make sense. If you understand insecure leaders, it makes perfect sense.

What would cause anyone to choose to work with or want to work with a dishonest, insecure leader? Their own insecurity. A secure person with options that has developed themselves wouldn't. They would quit (new department or new company) and have to be replaced by the insecure leader.

Insecure leaders terminate/fire and replace those they don't want on the team. Or, they must replace those that quit because they don't want to be on the insecure leader's team.

Aren't the insecure leaders incompetent?

Not most of the time. It may be the case occasionally, but most often, the insecure leader had the competency to get the position. However, they don't have the character to effectively lead with the position. They think they have arrived. For an insecure leader, getting the position was the goal. Leading and developing others was not; that's reserved for secure leaders.

If the leader above is very insecure, there may be a competency issue with the leaders they select to fill leadership positions below them. You can be sure they will select a leader to fill positions below them that doesn't threaten them. Insecure leaders will never select people smarter than them; that's reserved for high impact, secure leaders.

A secure leader with both competency and character would be a threat to an insecure leader above and wouldn't be selected to fill the position. If they slip through the cracks, they would quit before they would continue reporting to the insecure leader for an extended period of time.

Why are insecure leaders allowed to lead?

Insecure leaders are the only ones that knowingly promote other insecure leaders. Insecure leaders are also responsible for leaving them in place. Why? Because they are insecure themselves. It should be obvious that insecure leaders want weaker leaders below them. Therefore, more insecure leaders.

A weak, insecure leader at the top ensures the leadership is weaker and more insecure as you get closer to the bottom.

It all starts at the top. The organization can't rise any higher than the lid "top leader" of the organization. A high impact leader at the top creates a culture where insecure leaders cannot survive. A low impact leader at the top creates an organization where insecure leaders can thrive.

If we choose to work for an insecure leader and aren't happy, we are insecure in some way ourselves. If we were secure, we would move on allowing the leader to replace us. If we don't develop ourselves effectively in order to create more options, we must settle for what others want us to have and be. Often, they don't want us to have or be much.

Insecure leaders cause a lot of problems.

As I mentioned at the start of this lesson, insecure leaders are the primary cause of reduced employee engagement because their insecurities create distrust. Employees will not engage with leaders they don't trust, no matter how many surveys they are asked to take. Lack of employee engagement is a direct result of a trust issue with the leaders. Employees that don't trust the leaders will not say what needs to be said on a survey because they don't trust it is anonymous and they feel there might be a price to pay.

When employee engagement is an issue, an employee engagement survey is useless and a waste of resources.

When there is a lack of engagement, it's a sign of ineffective leadership, not ineffective team members. The leaders need leadership development; the employees do not need an engagement survey.

Insecure leaders are also the primary cause of employee turnover because they push their team members away. People don't quit companies. People quit people. The worst team members without options will stay, but those with options, the best, will leave.

Leadership development must start at the top. Any issues within the company are a direct result of the leadership at the top.

If the top leaders don't have the courage to identify themselves as the problem and the humility to develop themselves first, and instead, choose to start the development program at a lower level where the perceived problem is, all they are doing is training and developing leaders for other companies. Why? Because those that buy-in to the training and truly develop themselves will begin to see what's not happening above that should be happening above. Then, the best will leave, and the company will continue along with the same problem they had to start with: ineffective leadership at the top.

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Mack Story

My passion is to help you live with abundance, achieve success, choose significance, and leave a legacy. In other words, I want to help you make a High Impact !

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Mack’s story is an amazing journey of personal and professional growth. He began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership. He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

Mack is the author of Blue-Collar Leadership Series, Defining Influence, & 10 Values of High Impact Leaders. He's an inspiration for people everywhere as an example of achievement, growth, and personal development. His passion inspires people all over the world! Order signed copies here.

Mack’s experience as a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Speaker includes an international training event in Guatemala with John as part of the Cultural Transformation in Guatemala where more than 20,000 Guatemalan leaders were trained.

Contact Mack at 334-728-4143 or [email protected] for Keynote Speaking, Corporate Training, Professional Leadership Development, Cultural Enhancement/Transformation, and Process Improvement.