You’re the one who is always looking for the next opportunity to lead. When someone is needed to step up and take the lead, you volunteer. You get jazzed about growth in challenging circumstances.
Casting impossible vision, developing new initiatives, and implementing innovative strategies feed your passion for achieving the unthinkable. Does that sound like you?
Well, that’s me! And, since I’m passionate about intentional growth, I’m easily frustrated by unproductive leadership and the resulting wasted potential within organizations. If you’re trapped in this unfortunate situation, check out Michael Hyatt’s 5 Ways to Cope with Bad Leaders.
I’ve served with some remarkable leaders in several organizations – and I’ve served with some not-so-remarkable leaders. To be honest, I’ve made many mistakes in leadership. My leaders and my teams have been more than patient, even gracious, as I have grown to lead more effectively.
So, what good can come from serving with a poor leader? Here are four things I’ve learned from poor leaders in my own leadership journey:
Follow first
I enjoy leading. In fact, I like leading more than following. Following bores me. But I’ve learned that effective leaders have learned to follow well. Trust me – following is not easy for a maverick – particularly when your leader is incompetent, inattentive, or apathetic. There have been seasons when my only choice was to follow the unproductive demands of a toxic leader. And following has made me a better leader.
Care for my team
Poor leaders have provided great opportunities for me to show authentic care and support for my team. My most memorable moments are regular one-on-one meetings with my team members helping them develop personally and professionally through the pain. We simply cannot grow and lead with purpose if we don’t ACTIVELY care for others.
Value progress
There are times when toxic leadership affects the productivity and performance of the team – when your leader is an obstacle to your efforts. This drives me nuts! Because I want to be always improving and leading my team to perform more effectively and more efficiently. So I’ve learned to value and celebrate progress and focus on making significant improvements in areas where the team does have freedom.
Give it time
In his book about Necessary Endings, Dr. Henry Cloud says there may come a time when the behavior of a poor leader is unsustainable and part of you is dying. That’s when the relationship needs to end. And I’ve found that to be true. Here’s what is interesting – in EVERY instance of poor leadership in my career, I didn’t have to manipulate the situation or get in a hurry for the relationship to end. It was only a matter of time before the toxic leader was moved or I was moved. Every time, I ended up in a better position for me, for my family, and for better developing a new team.
Question: What have you learned from your poor leaders? Leave a comment.
I’ve been following a toxic leader for over 3 years and now have been invited to join a new team that is barely getting off the ground. While leaving the current team may “burn a bridge,” the damage being done will tally to more people being hurt.
Why do I still feel loyalty towards a person who has been so toxic and afraid to move on?”
Your second point rings so true for me. How can your team survive if you don’t genuinely care for them. I’ve experienced both toxic leaders and excellent leaders and I always try to learn what I can from each type. My biggest learning so far has been that you need to genuinely care for your team (and peers too) to help them build strategies to not only deal with, but to learn from, toxic leaders. Workplaces are made up of human beings with all the good an bad that comes with that – not just resources, robots or automatons.
So important Suzanne! We’ve all hear it – People don’t care about how much you know until the know how much you care.
Excellent article, Michael. I think most people forget about the first point, to be a good master you need to learn to be a good student.
True!
Great article, Thanks!
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity” – Sun-Tzu, ‘care for my team.’ The first time I had to work within a dysfunctional organization where leadership was failing
their employees I found myself feeling frustrated and powerless. Shortly after
I learned to take the negative environment and re-build a team which began to exude
its own culture. Eventually the team strengthened enough that its culture began
to expose and affect senior management. An organizational change began to take
place and it started from within (inside out).
That’s a great outcome! Keep up the good work! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Another bread of inspiration for me… well you are God’s angel sent to me.
I appreciate that Maria – enjoy your week!
in simple terms, we learn what not to do–we learn to compensate–we learn to use our eyes and ears more—we take a lot of notes:)——-we listen between the words, we see the missed opportunities——–but we support the work load——and do the right thing
Thanks Bonnie.
Thanks, Michael! I was attracted to your comments, as I like most of us, have had to experience a poor leader. It is most frustrating when you know the leader is very entrenched in the system. It was definitely a lesson in patience for me, and the experience taught me what not to do. I thought back to my teaching years and remembered that caring for my students, just like caring for my employees, made me more sensitive and them more responsive. I never asked them to do anything that I was not willing to do myself. I felt that the delegation from my poor leader was more about what she was unwilling to do than what she thought I would handle well. Not a good feeling, and I never wanted anyone to feel I had that motivation in mind. Thanks for sharing.
I love your perspective with your students! Thanks for stopping by.
I have made use of these points in my own experience with having poor leadership. Actually, having poor leadership has taught me a lot while growing into my own leadership style. Points 2 and 3 were most helpful. Setting and celebrating progress goals builds up the team and, in the best case, builds good leadership within the team.
If you’re in a situation where you are under a poor leader, you can use your influence within the team to keep cohesion and productivity regardless of the leader.
Great post – thanks for sharing!
Great points Dale! I agree.
Caring for my team provides an incredible opportunity in the face of a toxic leader. People respond remarkably to a genuine concern for their well-being – personally or professionally.
I love the idea that even in the darkest of leadership times, you can still learn as well as be be a positive influence on others.
So true David, although it took me a while to figure that out. Thanks for sharing. Michael
Michael,
Point #4 is a key lesson I’ve had to learn over more than once, but I can attest to God’s providence in this in much the same manner as you’ve related. The bonus on the military side of things is that we are by definition in situations where our leadership rotates at the most every couple of years, which obviously brings with it another set of challenges. On the positive side, a bad leader provides opportunities for personal growth that are unique to the challenges of that particular relationship, and our opportunity to glorify God in our response to those leaders is only magnified all the more the worse the leader. He is most glorified in our weakness in these situations.
I have thoroughly enjoyed diving into your website, and I very much share your passion for leadership, organizational behavior, and how we build better teams to further the work of the gospel.
Luke Cropsey
Great thoughts, Luke! Good to hear from you. What are a few leadership and organizational topics you would like to read more about?