The Traits the Worst Leaders Have in Common (so that you can avoid them!)
I have written before about what great leaders should be like.
- How they’re empathetic
- How they’re humble, yet driven
- How they’re transparent, ethical and inspiring
As USA Gymnastics looks for it’s next CEO I remind myself, “don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good”. The President and CEO’s job is HUGE. There will be some great candidates who check many of the boxes we are looking for and could be great leaders. But what about the traits that make for poor leaders? I’ve been a traveling consultant for about 10 years. I’ve seen a variety of head coaches and club owners who are inspiring leaders and some who were cancerous. This has helped me determine the kind of leader I want to be today. I can draw on the lessons of the great leaders and learn from the negative experiences as well.
I work best when I am working FOR something and not just AGAINST something but ultimately, I believe I have to know how NOT to operate in order to be the most effective versions of myself.
Here are the most harmful habits and traits I strive to avoid.
1. Operating with a lack of trust and transparency
Dishonesty is cancerous and difficult to cloak.
Which is to say, it poisons morale and makes your coworkers dislike you. And poisoned morale, of course, disrupts productivity and hinders your gym’s overall capacity for operating effectively.
If you think you can keep your team inspired while being dishonest to them about what’s happening behind closed doors, think again.
All of your staff — top to bottom — can tell when you’re lying to them.
In fact, there’s rarely a reason not to be entirely transparent with your team, especially at a gym where we employ young and energetic people. No matter the situation, your team deserves to understand what sort of logic or procedural mechanisms drive the decision-making processes at your company.
Moreover, people simply appreciate knowing where the gym stands — it inspires them. If you are honest, they will want to help shoulder more of the load.
2. Only pushing your own ideas
Great leaders and coaches seek creative solutions to thorny problems everywhere they look.
Ineffective leaders, on the other hand, approach problem-solving processes much more myopically.
They suffer from what I call “not-invented-here-syndrome.” I’ve experienced this first hand at a gym I worked at early in my career. The head coach refused to listen to others, like me, who were lower on the proverbial totem pole. I do not know if they ever realized how toxic this was for morale. Our ideas may NOT have worked but I think they at least deserved to be listed to.
Club owners and head coaches who don’t identify good ideas when they’re presented to them — even from the lowest employee on the team — stunt morale, potential, and, ultimately, their gym’s bottom line.
3. Playing the blame game
If you are the gym owner or head coach- The buck has to stop with you. You’re the one in charge. Unbreakable accountability is a burden you have to bear.
As it happens, a certain unwillingness to hold yourself accountable is a surefire sign of a cowardly leader. The worst leaders never accept responsibility for blunders, churned customers, or bad competitions. Instead, they expend effort looking for others to blame.
This, simply put, is unproductive, not to mention damaging. As a practice, it disincentivizes employees from taking risks or coming up with creative solutions to problems because they fear being the subject of the boss’s scorn. FIX THE PROBLEM, NOT THE BLAME.
4. Not listening to your employees
Great coaches and gym owners understand that inspiration can come from every employee on staff.
Failing to understand this — or, worse, willfully ignoring it — is an indicator of a defective leader, and certainly of a leader who will NEVER achieve greatness. Discrediting those who work “below you” simply because they’re technically subordinates is a sign of ignorance, and makes it impossible to build a loyal, engaged, and faithful team.
As it happens, a loyal and inspired team is exactly what leaders are charged with cultivating.
5. Focusing on the now and short-changing the future
This trait, in particular, is difficult in today’s environment to correct. In the 24 hour news cycle — in which positive reports and news meant to please anxious members take precedence above all other goals — it can be seen as sort of anthemic.
But great leaders prioritize and focus on projects and goals which will most benefit the company and are thus based in reality — not corporate hyperbole.
Prioritizing short-term goals risks long-term security.
6. Inconsistency
I have seen many coaches struggle with this. They change their plan too often. I tell them – it is often not about the PLAN – it is about the FOLLOW THROUGH.
Unfortunately, making a habit of that makes it difficult to achieve long-term goals. Strategy shifts must always be coordinated and well-thought out — not to mention transparent. The other coaches working with you should understand the logic informing the decisions you’re making, as well as the manner in which you’ve made them.
They have to believe that whatever decisions you’re making, you’re making for the betterment of the the team, the individual, the gym. It’s hard to remain confident in a leader who makes key decisions seemingly on a whim.
In fact, that sort of behavior only triggers confusion.
The central theme to all of these corporate failings is this: they erode trust and respect among your employees, and render you less effective as a leader in the long run.
At the end of the day, your employees and coworkers are your troops; they’re looking to be led. They need commanders they can depend on.
But in order to be that leader, you need to work consciously on developing the right sort of habits. Often, that starts with understanding how not to operate.
