Leadership Diseases: How to Identify & Treat Them?

Leadership is all about character and substance. The recent world corporate history is tinted with a long list of horrendous scams in the field of corporate and ethical wrongdoings that could be traced back to the judgment made by ambitious people in positions of authority. Such cases raise questions on the very intent and content of leaders and victims wonder whether the failures were intentional or the upshot of incompetent big-headed and reckless leaders. Such an illness in leadership has been running in nerves of the organizations and in societies from their inception.

A report by workforce consulting firm Life Meets Work claims that 56% of employees endure a toxic leader and his venomous behaviors leading to an obnoxious environment. Another research by psychologist Nathan Brooks and Dr. Katarina Fritzon of Bond University and Dr. Simon Croom of the University of San Diego claims that around one in five bosses are found psychopaths in the upper echelons of the corporate world. That is a scary figure, which surely reveals that the problem of toxicity is so prevalent in the corporate corridors which gradually decay their subordinates’ morale, motivation and self-esteem.

Here are five signs of a sick leadership and some piece of treatment advice:

1. Poor Decision Making

Poor decision making hurts the direction of your company, the internal and external stakeholders and the organisational culture. Rest assured that poor decision making is contagious and can become a learned behavior, rippling throughout the business and affecting each and every organisational unit. Effective leaders must have a process in place to make good decisions and understand how to share knowledge on to other leaders in the pipeline.

Treatment: If you’re a leader trying to break free from bad decision making, one of the best ways to end this cycle is to collaborate closely with others until you have better insight into what outcomes could result from leadership’s decisions. By understanding the landscape of your situation, you can confidently make informed and careful decisions to avoid this toxic behavior.

2. Disrespect Others

When leaders lack respect for others, it says more about them than it does about the people they disrespect. Respect is a simple concept that goes a long way and can be the difference between long-lasting commitment or complete disengagement. Employee disengagement means employees no longer see the purpose and lack the motivation to follow the company’s vision. Once those two things are lost, it is almost impossible to recover.

Treatment: Adopt the idea of treating the cleaner in your building with the same respect as the CEO of your company. This might take practice, but the more you do it, the better a leader you will become.

3. Not Communicating Well

We know some CEOs who shy away speaking at the employee events and deliver written speeches even on external events. They tend to communicate one way and expect everyone to adapt to their communication style. This behavior is called selective communication and it’s a strong indicator of a sick leader. Selective communication results in a struggle to connect with others. Such leaders don’t know how to diversify their communication or don’t see the value in doing so, and they can’t connect to their employees.

Treatment: If you’re struggling with communication, start with listening more patiently and by getting a gauge and understanding of how others around you communicate is a great way to start diversifying the way you communicate as a leader.

4. Not Telling the Complete Truth

Truth is how leaders build trust, and lie is how they lose it, along with their credibility as a leader. such leaders tend to avoid the truth and struggle to directly communicate. This usually stems from a fear of being disliked or feeling like they are making the situation worse with transparency. When the truth is fudged, the people become disengaged and, in return, won’t express the full truth themselves. This is bad for business.

Treatment: The best thing a leader can do is tell the truth — and if it is difficult news, do it with humanity, clarity, and honesty.

5. Not believing in Uplifting Others

Rise by lifting others is not just a fancy slogan but it actually works if tried sincerely. Sick leaders tend to focus attention on themselves and shut others out when they attempt to shine. Such a behavior is derived out of fear of failure. Toxic leaders struggle to reward & recognize their employees for their hard work and instead of promoting nepotism within your organisation. Regardless of the reasons behind these actions, this is the fastest way to lose top talent and make those who do stay feel underappreciated and underrepresented.

Treatment: Historically, no leader has been able to accomplish great things alone. Great leaders help build great organisation, reward them for outstanding work, and provide them with opportunities to grow within. They see intrinsic value in the people they work with, and they aren’t afraid to cultivate their strengths.

Wrap Up

Sometime, leaders can fall in certain behavioral patterns which are unhealthy for the organisational stability and growth. Understanding how to recognize the signs of a toxic leader is the first step to addressing the underlying problems: negative outcome i.e. low morale, lack of productivity, and high turnover. If you recognize these signs in your own leadership style, start changing your behavior by practicing the above pointer, reach out to a coach or mentor, and spending time reflecting on what type of leader you want to be.

Leadership is a journey; we aren’t meant to have all the answers or do everything perfectly. We are bound to commit mistakes, but we must learn from those mistakes. Never settle for stagnant or toxic leadership and always keep an out for the next wave of great leaders.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and Evolve HR’s website.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder and Managing Director of Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, At Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.