Tom Keefe delivers a presentation on leadership.
I had just finished delivering a leadership workshop, when one attendee asked me a question about a topic that clearly troubled her.
“Is there such a thing as a ‘bad boss?'” she asked.
During the workshop, I showed a series of photos of famous people, and asked the audience to pick the ones whom they considered leaders. Most of the audience also identified “bad leaders”—including Kim Jong-un and Al Capone.
Bad leaders certainly exist! They differ from ineffective leaders, who lack the skills or character to lead a team to the best outcomes. It is possible to redirect and reeducate ineffective leaders to become more effective, more empathetic, and more focused on team success. However, bad leaders lack the desire or capacity to see their deficiencies, and they ignore input from their people.
If you want to avoid becoming a bad leader, assess your leadership style and use a 360-degree evaluation to receive feedback from your manager and the person(s) who report to you.
Some well-known assessments include:
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- StrengthsFinder
- Core Values Index from Taylor Protocols, Inc.
