You Suck as a Leader

Colonel Candid here in one of my most candid writings. Sometimes as much as I want to build you up, I’m also going to need you to self-reflect and find those areas where you are weakest. Let’s apply some serious elbow grease and get rid of these bad habits before they make you the leader who sucks. The reason you’re ineffective at leading could be one of several issues stemming from communication, trust, integrity, or planning. The impacts of these failures ripple across your team or organization.

1.       You talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Please, we appreciate your lofty attempts at coaching, speeches, and the numerous vision statements you’ve posted around. Unfortunately, your inaction is evident every single day. The paper-thin goals you’ve put up aren’t working because you don’t provide us with the intent. Clear communication is key and we want to understand what you want of us.

2.       You could care less about your team. It’s evident that you micro-manage when most direct reports or employees jump when you walk by them or they see you. You sucked at sharing your toys in the sandbox when you were young and that bled over into adulthood. Sorry, this poor work relationship causes many of us to be disengaged. We just come to work for the free donuts you bring.

3.       Failure paralyzes you. Make a damned decision already. We can see that you don’t have a backbone. We’ve attempted to show you that we’re on your team but reciprocatively you don’t return the favor and we can’t trust you. Your lack of integrity is evident in both the little things, like small number changes, and the big ones, like admitting you were wrong.

4.       You’re not paid to make friends. If I must hear, “This is how we do it around here, like it or leave it,” one more time I think I’m going to puke. Isn’t it such a catch 22 because you fought so hard for this leadership position that your knife fight to get to the job made you blinded by power? Now you’re not walking the walk, see #1, nor are you motivating any of us with the ridiculous attempts of leading. Just do that, lead me, motivate me to get my job done and help the team.

5.       Piss poor planning promotes piss poor performance. How true it is that you’ve still not gotten the hang of this whole collaboration thing. You’re swatting at gnats instead of tackling the giant problem in the room. Get in the ring and wrestle the tiger already. Everyone has those day-to-day problems, but you’ve got to get your head on straight. Here’s a great example, the end of the month report is due… “surprise” at the end of the month.  Genius, right? Why then are we always running around like chickens with our heads cut off to get data for you at the end of the month. Plan and help us stay on task, the interruptions are ceaseless.

The impacts of your lack of leadership is evident to the organization. People are jumping ship left and right. People don’t always need to be happy, but the high turnover rate is saying something. Next, we know you’ve got grievances, complaints, investigations, and the union all over you and it’s not just because they don’t like you. It’s literally because you fail to handle the hard issues with hiring, evaluations, counseling the right way. Lastly, people are just sick and tired of being sick and tired. Morale is in the dumps, your productivity is way down, infighting is at an all-time high and the cacophony of complaining is echoed through the halls. Please, take the time, roll up your sleeves and make the changes to find your greatness again.