Leadership Flaws

It's been a while since I last posted. A lot of real life stuff has been going on, most of it mundane and fairly boring.

I'd just like to share some insights I gained during the time I was away from this blog. It's mostly about the leaders I've encountered and their leadership skills. It is no easy task to take up the mantle of leadership. To accept the role of a leader means you have to take resp0nsiblity for those under you and become accountable to them and to those outside your group.

Unfortunately, some of leaders I know fail to recognize their responsibility and accountability to those under them. Here are some of the things I noticed when leaders fail to fulfill their duties to their team-mates.

1. Criticizing your own group in front of other leaders. I think a leader should stand up for his group and at least try to defend them. Every group has its flaws and a good leader should help improve his or her group's weaknesses, rather than criticizing the group in front of other people.

2. Restrict or limit information. Being a leader means having to deal with things that affect the welfare of the group. A good leader knows how to keep his group updated on things and events that might affect their performance or work. Some leaders I know tend to withhold important information, causing confusion among his or her group.

3. Disregarding regulations and protocols. Groups and teams function properly when they follow a prescribed protocol or standard. Everyone knows their role and responsibilities, what is expected of them, and how they contribute to the overall performance of the group. Some leaders ignore the standard rules and processes, often making up their own rules as they please. This can cause confusion and conflict within the group and other groups.

4. What works before can work now. Every group is unique. Leaders should learn to adjust their management skills and adapt. Some leaders I know follow the same leadership style, thinking that what works in one group can work in another.

5. Micromanagement and total mismanagement. Some leaders I worked with fall under these two extreme categories. There are leaders that try to manage everything that his or her group does (even though the subordinate is an expert or skilled on the task assigned to him/her). For me it shows that the leader does not fully trust the people under them. And there are leaders that have no clue as to what is happening within the group.

6. Power tripping. Just because you are the leader doesn't give you the right to be a jack-ass to your group mates.

There are a lot of other things I can add, but I think these are the more glaring flaws that I've noticed in the recent leaders I worked with. I try my best to understand their own weaknesses and imperfections. But these leaders need to remind themselves of their responsibilities and obligation to their groups.