Truth or Myth? You learn more from bad leaders

Learning Can Be Easy or Hard…

I have often said that I have learned the most from bad leaders but now I wholeheartedly disagree. It’s a numbers game, and I’ve definitely encountered far more bad leaders than good especially early in my career. Admittedly, that was a different era though many still exist in the workplace. The other aspect involved in learning so much from a bad leader is that it is painful. Utterly painful. Of course we learn what not to do (hopefully!) from those bad leaders though we often end up repeating the cycle. It’s toxic and really not worth repeating.

 When I refer to bad leaders, in my opinion, they are the leaders who try to control their teams through fear. They place themselves at the top of the pyramid, their team is there only to support the leader, they have no time for “feelings” (ick!), and they take pride in taking credit for your good work while blaming you for anything that went wrong. After all, the leader gets all the glory. The workers will get their time in the spotlight when they become the leader. In essence, these leaders are bullies. They do not inspire. They do not care about anyone’s development. They only care about themselves.

 This is an extreme example of this type of leader though I’m sure someone came to mind from your own experiences as you read that. These leaders cause more harm than good. They cause you to question your value and can strip you of your confidence. They do not want you to be your best self because you may outshine them or leave them. Ironically, you’ll probably choose to leave this type of leader anyway.

 At the opposite end of the spectrum is the great leader. Working with this person is easy, inspiring and transformative. They are invested in your development, make time for you and involve you. This leader treats everyone with respect regardless of title. They are knowledgeable. They understand people and how to connect. This leader also understands that we never stop learning and fosters of culture of growth. This is a mindset, and this leader understands that learning comes from all directions not just top down. This leader challenges you to be your best authentic self and also supports you during this process. Sometimes you may not realize how much you have learned from this type of leader until you have moved on to another role. These leaders are in service to their teams and usually get the best from their teams. If this leader happens to have a toxic leader as a boss though, their wonderful contributions will not be understood and can even feel threatening to others who thrive in a fear based system.

 In the middle are the good leaders. They have some great qualities yet still dabble in some fear based practices. This tends to be the vast majority of leaders. When things are going well, they display more qualities of the great leader. When things are not going so well, or if they are overwhelmed, the bad leader tendencies rear their head. Working with this leader is sometimes easy and sometimes very hard. The most difficult aspect of working with this type of leader may actually be that you never know which type of leader you will get from day to day. This uncertainty creates stress in the environment and can cause instability within the team. You may find yourself always on alert and not really trusting the good times. This will affect the quality of the work from the team.

It is clear that I believe that we learn the most from the great leaders. They provide a safe space for us to grow and develop. They share their wisdom yet allow you to find your path. I truly hope you get to work with many of these leaders, that you become one of these leaders, and that you in turn foster the development of more of these leaders.

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