What makes a person a good leader? Is it a position, salary or achievements? Well, yes, but those are not the most important things. Leaders can find and reveal true talents and skills of other people; they can support and promote good workers. If it is not happening, it is not a true leader, but just a boss who happens to take this position. Such people won’t bring much use to the company, firm, organization, enterprise, etc. You can easily define such a person if you analyze his or her behavior. Here are some signs you may notice.
1. They always blame someone else
“Is the project still not ready? It is the team’s fault and has nothing to do with my management.” “Doesn’t the new printer work? It must be broken; I don’t have time to read the instructions.” “Are employees always late? We need to get the new ones; I don’t have to discipline them.” Lousy leaders always blame someone or something: people, equipment, system, etc. It is never their fault! Good leaders are able to acknowledge their mistakes and to do something about them.
2. They are afraid of talented people
Bad leaders are very afraid of intelligent and talented people. If they can, they just don’t hire them. If they have to hire them, they always try to depreciate them and their work. Such leaders are insecure and self-conscious, which are not the best qualities for leading positions.
3. They make people work very hard while they do nothing
Do you often see your boss watching fun YouTube videos, talking on the phone with friends, playing computer games or checking their social networks while you have to deal with numerous tasks? That is the right example of a bad leader. Often such leaders love to remind their employees how lazy and useless they are. A good leader should always be an example of a hard worker.
4. They threaten their employees
Bad leaders tend to constantly threaten their employees with discharge or demotion. Surely, fear can be a very powerful motivation, but true leaders have to be teachers; they should help people to have the desire to become better and to grow professionally. In this case, the results of work will be much better than with the fear. Threatening can cause nothing but negative emotions towards such leaders and their companies.
5. They intrigue
Bad leaders turn some employees against the others. They can say that certain people spread rumors or sneak on someone. They may think that it creates competitive environment and makes employees work harder. Office intrigues affect people’s morals. Good leaders shouldn’t let that happen. They need to create positive environment that people would want to come back to.
6. They are always hezitant
Leaders have to be able to make decisions. If a person is too hesitant about anything starting with what paper to choose for copy machines and finishing with who should present the company at the next conference, he or she is not a leader material. A leader has to be confident and make decisions even if they are not always right.
7. They are arrogant
No one likes people who are always sure that they are right and they never make mistakes. Such people always feel superior and treat people like they know nothing. Arrogant leaders are often despised by their employees and have no respect from them.
8. They have terrible relationships with everyone at work
If a boss cannot have good relationships with the majority of employees, there can be no positive environment and effective management in this office. There are situations when bad bosses have many friends, but these are exceptions.
9. They don’t like innovations
Bad leaders often like things the way they are and don’t want to do something new, to try some new techniques, to buy new equipment or to hire new professionals. They can spend years with no progress whatsoever. Such people hinder the team’s work and don’t allow their employees move forward and develop their skills.
10. They don’t care about what they do
Good leaders are often passionate about their job and about the whole industry they are a part of. If you don’t like what you do, it will be very difficult to inspire people who work for you. Bad leaders can actually become very good ones once they change their career path and choose some other sphere of business.
11. Their employees are miserable
To define bad leaders, you can not only look at them, but also take a good look at their employees. If a boss is clever, honest and fair, employees will be happy and motivated to work. If a boss is not very suitable to be a leader, employees will look tired and unhappy all the time. Great leaders create great workers.
12. They are excessively familiar with their colleagues
Some bosses behave too familiar with their employees seeking for approval. They think that it’ll make them closer to their colleagues and everyone will like them. They can even share some very personal things such as a fight with their spouse or problems with their kids. Every good leader remembers about the boundaries at work. Such talks will only make employees uncomfortable and confused. Those are not the best emotions for work.
13. They lie
Well, that is a bad thing for any person, not just a leader. Some leaders don’t only lie to customers, their bosses, etc., but also make their employees cover for them. Obviously, that cannot end well in any scenario.
14. They micromanage too much
No one likes it when their boss watches every move they make. Excessive micromanaging is not the job for true leaders. They are supposed to be someone whom their workers admire and want to work hard for. This can be achieved by a personal example, work ethics, honesty and respect for people.
15. They are rude
If your boss swears a lot, yells to people, punishes employees for every small mistake, calls names and argues about unimportant things all the time, better look for a new job. Such people can rarely become successful leaders and lead people towards positive changes. All they do is to embarrass, humiliate and scare their workers.
Featured photo credit: Manager at work/Kristof Ramon via flickr.com
