After studying nearly 11,000 company leaders, the Harvard Business Review identified these as the top 10 most common flaws of poor managers:

Lack of energy or enthusiasm: Poor leaders see any new change or challenge as a negative. They have little patience for employees’ shortcomings. They complain about being asked to take on any additional responsibilities and never volunteer to do so.

Accept mediocrity: Poor leaders are complacent. They aren’t interested in reaching the next level or exceeding goals. They don’t respond well to heightened expectations, nor are they likely to rise to the occasion. They aim low, and accept employees that do the same. They don’t challenge employees to realize their potential.

Lack clear direction or vision: Poor leaders may know what their goals are, but they don’t have a realistic plan for achieving them. They’re poor coaches. They don’t take an active role in helping employees set realistic goals or step-by-step plans for achieving them. They don’t raise the bar for themselves. If forecasts aren’t met, they blame the system or employees’ poor performance. They lack accountability.

Exhibit poor judgment: Ineffective leaders don’t see the big picture. They make decisions based on emotion rather than logic, gut feelings rather than numbers. They think of what’s best for themselves, rather than the department or the company. They seek short-term solutions for long-term problems.

Poor collaborators: Poor leaders see other managers as a threat. They don’t welcome suggestions from other departments, nor do they take kindly to constructive criticism. They would rather fail on their own merit than accept someone else’s advice. They view other managers as competition.

Manage by telling others to “do as I say, not as I do”: Poor leaders aren’t interested in “getting in the trenches” with their troops, so to speak. They expect employees to get results, but rarely take the time to help employees sharpen their skills. They enjoy looking down from the ivory tower, rather than rolling their sleeves up and getting their hands dirty. They generally defend their position by reminding others they’ve “done their time” or saying “that’s not my job.”

Resist new ideas: Poor leaders believe change is bad. They don’t encourage regular feedback from co-workers. They see progress as a challenge to “the way things used to be done around here.” When being asked to adjust something about their operation, they generally want to know what’s in it for them.

Repeat mistakes: Because poor leaders don’t appreciate criticism and they’re reluctant to admit when they’re wrong, they generally try to cover up or compensate for mistakes until they balloon into major issues. The lack of accountability causes them to repeat mistakes until they’re forced to change what they’re doing.

General lack of diplomacy: They praise in private, criticize in public.

Inability to develop others: Because poor leaders view others as a threat to their position, they’re reluctant to develop top performers into company leaders. Combine that with the other nine fatal flaws, and it makes it nearly impossible for any top performer to want or accept this type of manager’s leadership. Long term, that leads to a decrease in overall productivity and an increase in turnover.

Source: “Ten Fatal Flaws That Derail Leaders,” by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, Harvard Business Review.

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Tags: coaching, flaws, leaders, management, managers, mistakes