Free Essay Example - Poor Leadership

The topic of leadership is broad. Leadership has got two major categories, that is, ethical leadership and bad/poor leadership. Many scholars have centered on studying one side of leadership; excellent leadership and neglecting the other. Many books focus only on becoming an outstanding leader. These researches raise serious controversy since it is impossible to teach about good leadership while ignoring the shortcomings of poor leadership (Storey et al. 2017). The current literature presents only the right side of leadership. The research assumes that one learns to a leader and that leadership requires only character and competence (Storey et al. 2017). Previously, in the early 20th century, leadership targeted to create better leaders and control the bad ones. Based on the mentioned controversy, this paper targets to discuss the traits of a weak leader, and also provide a solution on how to become a different, unique, and outstanding leader.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Leader and Leadership

Generally, leaders are the people or individuals who have the supreme power to make decisions on behalf of a group or a team. Every leader must have followers; therefore, followers are the people affected by the decisions made by the leader. Being a leader does not mean that one has to lead a large group of individuals; leadership encompasses even small groups such as sports teams.

Whether in charge of a small group or a big one, leadership needs followership. Without followers, leadership fails. Bad followership gets catalyzed by poor leadership.

Characteristics of a Poor Leader

Incompetent

An incompetent leader is always reluctant, that is, ignorant of any changes and improvements. They have no foresight of any challenges ahead. They only opt to maintain the status quo. When followers realize that their leader is incompetent, they tend to withdraw their willpower and loyalty just because the leader is incapable of challenging them.

Intemperate

This character causes leaders to lack self-control (Storey et al. 2017). Due to a lack of self-control, even the most talented leader can a team to disaster. Being intemperate makes a leader become self-centered and forgets the team goals.

Rigid

Rigid leaders are different from incompetent leaders in that; they can lead the team to success. However, the problem with rigorous leaders is that they are mostly not willing to undertake the required tasks for the success of the organization. The crucial role of a leader is to identify the dos and don'ts for the success of the group (Katzenbach, 2003).

Corrupt

A corrupt leader causes the followers to behave as he does since leaders lead by example (Storey et al. 2017). However, corruption has different effects on different individuals. Some followers may take advantage of the situation, leading to the failure of the entire team.

Callous

A trusted leader is one who is compassionate and kind to his followers. Team performance is vital for the success of a leader (Katzenbach, 2003). A callous leader destroys a team's goodwill, thus causing loss of trust. What results is the lack of new ideas since everyone fears that his/her views might be scorned?

The Solution to Poor Leadership

It may be hard to transform a weak leader into a good one. But through poor leadership, any aspiring leader can learn what to do and what not to do if he/she becomes a leader. Knowledge is different from wisdom. Mostly. Leaders get chosen from a group of people based on the qualities expressed by the individual. A wise leader is better than a knowledgeable one in that he/she does not use leadership as a tool for power, but service.

One key element for improving leadership skills is learning. Attending leadership seminars to listen to other leaders' leadership theories and techniques plays an important role in instilling leadership quality to an individual. Finally, learning from the mistakes of others. Being independent as a leader is essential, but others' failures should help one in making more profound judgments.

References

Katzenbach, J. (2003). Pride: A strategic asset. Strategy & Leadership, 31(5), 34-38. doi:10.1108/10878570310492041

Storey, J., Hartley, J., Denis, J., Hart, P. '., & Ulrich, D. (2017). The Routledge companion to leadership. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.