People In Leadership Roles But Are Not Leading

LEADERSHIP: “the action of leading a group of people or organization”
LEADER: “the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country”

I noticed that a few Internet definitions for Leader and Leadership didn’t include any descriptive words without searching further—words like exemplary leader, impactful leadership and not even good leadership. The assumption is that one does not come without the other.  There are so many people in leadership roles of various capacities within corporations, small businesses, government, nonprofit organizations, schools (secondary and collegiate levels), and churches. There’s a disturbing breakdown of how leadership should be in many instances. The world has so many “leaders” yet fewer are leading responsibly and effectively. Shouldn’t there be a pause for concern? Yet, so many of us go about our day as though leaders will change like metamorphosis or accept things as they are.

The concept of leaders and leadership is interesting. The expectation is that leaders will possess the qualities and skills that exemplify good leadership.  But is that always the case?  Often times, we have a window view or an up and close personal experience with people who give us cause to wonder how could they had ever gotten the role and if it was a bad judgment call by people who hired or elected the person, then the next question would be, why is that person still in the position? Why must others suffer in masses because of someone else’s toxic, poor leadership?  Well, the answer can be complicated. It’s also fixable....unfortunately, not immediately in all circumstances. Sometimes, there’s even a rotation of poor leadership in the same organization. It can appear like a bad case of the flu that carries a bacteria that never dies, even when the season changes.

Take a look at Good Leadership qualities. We already know what bad leadership looks like. Perhaps, this list will train new eyes and stimulate older eyes to be more selective the next time around when choosing a leader. Poor leadership can destroy a business or any organization, and it can cause so much damage that it would take years to repair.

An effective leader is a person who does the following:

1. Creates an inspiring vision of the future.
2. Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision.
3. Manages delivery of the vision.
4. Coaches and builds a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision.

Problem: “Poor leaders can have a negative impact on employees and might even damage the company’s bottom line. Bad leadership affects your company’s ability to retain employees and lowers employee morale, motivation and productivity. Understanding the traits of poor leaders can help you avoid leadership pitfalls and strengthen your leadership abilities.”
Solution: Never hire, appoint, vote for anyone for a position whose history includes poor decision-making, dishonesty, selfishness, unfairness, and discrimination of any kind. It may take some probing but due diligence is more than necessary to select a good leader. * STOP placing people in leadership roles just because you owe someone a favor, have a relationship with their parent, uncle or aunt, or because they are a member of your sorority or fraternity, goes to your church, best friends with your spouse, or just because s/he has so-called connections or because they’re your son or daughter. All of those are frivolous reasons that most times cause more harm than good. Place people in leadership roles because they simply are qualified and will catapult a team to more greatness!   -Goya Spry

Mind Tools, a resource that over 27 million people use, stated the folllwing:

Note:

Leadership means different things to different people around the world, and different things in different situations. For example, it could relate to community leadership, religious leadership, political leadership, and leadership of campaigning groups.

We cannot assume that managers are good leaders. One can often have nothing to do with the other. However, good leaders can be great managers. 

🦚GPS