Not trusting is a leadership disease. Even more when we don’t trust process and collective wisdom and try to make something happen when it just isn’t ready. An effective leader will press against the edges and limitations and allow a group to see them, yet let the group come to its own conclusion of what is possible.
Not giving the people they are leading room to grow and to have a voice is a huge mistake. I see executive directors taking responsibility for all of the good things that happen in an organization and then blaming subordinates when things go wrong.
Being unwilling to work in collaboration with other people or organizations is misguided. This is especially true in a community like ours. There are so many nonprofits, and everyone wants to take credit for whatever their little piece of that is and, thus, are unwilling to share. Some folks don’t want to share power, don’t want to share their resources, and don’t want to lose their control over a situation.
Other qualities disliked in leaders. Emerging sages include lack of integrity, duplicity, and dictating rather than inspiring others among additional disliked leadership attributes:
Download Article 1K ClubMaking promises leaders can’t keep and duplicity, saying one thing and doing another, are traits I despise. Like having a public image that is different from how they are in private. That is devastating for the people who want to believe in their leaders.
It’s all about integrity, having a principle-centered leader. People need to know where you are going with something, and they need to know that you’re being honest. Nothing can shoot you in the foot faster than contradicting yourself and not being totally honest up-front. Once you lose your credibility you are done, and there is hardly any way to get it back.
