6 Consequences of Bad Leadership

Organizations must remain watchful to guard against bad leadership, which can fall on the spectrum from incompetence to full on abusiveness. Bad leaders have a negative impact on employees, on the company, and ultimately on the products or services they provide.

Their behaviors often include intimidation, bullying, misrepresenting facts, rejecting input from employees, retaliation, blaming others, dishonesty, deceit, and anger. These toxic behaviors prevent the formation of a positive organizational climate, prevent other leaders from meeting their requirements, and thwart the organization from accomplishing its goals.

Bill Treasurer and John Havlik, in their book The Leadership Killer: Reclaiming Humility in an Age of Arrogance, explain the dangers of bad leadership and how to protect against it. Treasurer, a leadership consultant, and Havlik, a retired Navy SEAL, both have extensive leadership experience, and their book provides key insights into the dangers of toxic leaders.

Treasurer and Havlik identify six repercussions of bad leadership.

1. Mission: The best leaders intentionally pursue worthy goals. Bad leaders prioritize their own goals over the organization’s.

2. Morale: Success depends on positive employee morale. Bad leaders wreck morale, and they generate an environment in…