Characteristics of A Bad Leader: Over the years, there had been people who came and lead the society, some history has recorded and some have been ignored by history. There had been numbers of individuals who had lead the people but these leaders exhibited some inhume characteristics towards the people in which they led. This one could ask if it still made them leaders, having in mind who a leader is.

A leader is a person who could see how things are not going on well and would want to improve and fix it. He rallies people to move towards a better vision and path which he sees. A leader is a person who is in charge and convinces people to follow him.

Bad leadership: Bad leadership could be defined as the process of ruling a particular people without possessing the good leadership qualities which include humility, sense of responsibility and the rest.

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9 Qualities/Characteristics or traits of a Bad Leader

1. Avoids Conflict: Be it the fact that the conflict is between the heads of departments or the team members, dealing directly with the conflict as a leader is of paramount importance for the progress and effective workspace relationship between the workers. By not dealing with said conflict, or hoping that it would be settled naturally would give rise to a bad leader and he is not only ignoring a conflict but is also letting the said situation to fester.

This conflict will still have to be dealt with but by the time the situation has been addressed, it must have escalated into a bigger problem or conflict. A good leader is not denied the knowledge that he cannot make everyone happy; therefore, he tries his best to keep his decision making in check.

2. Unpredictability: This type of characteristics could take many forms. However, a team or employees needs to be able to predict what their boss or leader wants in other to deliver or have a form of autonomy in delivering their jobs and in doing it. Not being able to predict their leader may lead them into a system of micromanagement. Having to approve each decision out of fear of reprisal is a failure in leadership which is equal to bad leadership.

Also, employees in any establishment need a form of sense of stability in order to feel safe and do their works effectively. For example, if the employees know that their employers reaction to a bad news is dependent on his mood for the day, they would find it challenging to relay a bad news to him each time and in turn be walking on eggshells all the time as they do not know or have an inclination of the effect their next move will have on the boss.

People who are hesitant to do things without thinking about it or putting it into consideration make very poor leaders. Sending mixed signals is one of the characteristics of a bad leader.

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3. Not a Forward Thinker: A good leader is one who always thinks of innovative ways to move the business and the people forward, and he is one who is not satisfied with status quo. However, a bad leader is one who does otherwise.

A bad leader on his own stead is more satisfied than surviving and still existing than moving forward, growing, and thriving. A good leader would want to always improve, always thinking about the way forward, always providing solutions to problems, always extending hands to his followers and the rest of them.

4. A Know it all: A good leader knows that he does not know it all and that there is always room for improvement, there is no reason for them to be right or even be the smartest person in the room; they are always open to paying attention and learning from others. They know the right people to go ask advice from and whom to avoid taking advice from.

However, a bad leader is one who poses to be a know it all, he does not take any form of advice from people nor input any from a superior. Taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge and talent which are available to them is one thing they do not consider doing as they are just bad leaders.

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5. Self-centered: Asides the fact that self-centered people are miserable to be with, self-centered people make bad leaders. When a leader is self-centered, he takes credit for all the achievements, successes, and in return blame his followers for all the failures encountered in the process.

This on the part of the staffs would lead to the demoralization of the staffs and in turn lead to business failure. The Rotary Club does have a saying that goes: “Service Above Self”. This means that only a science of right conduct towards others pays. Business is the science of human services. It profits most who serves his fellows best.

6. Setting Unrealistic Expectations: There are a few things which makes a hardworking team feel worse and that is failing to meet the expectations of their leaders. One of the qualities that makes one a bad leader is setting unrealistic expectation and expectations which the team would never hope to achieve and sometimes, it is also set at unrealistic times. After setting those unrealistic goals, the employees or team would have to pour out their blood, sweat, and tears and still not reach the already set goals of the leaders.

This form of practice by the leaders would in the long run cause an irreparable damage to both the leaders and his employees, or team. This is as a result of the fact that the leaders have a set out work goals and the followers would try but still not reach that goal already set. This could lead to conflict and distrust, so a good leader should always pay attention to his expectations.

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7. Focusing on Bottom-Line Revenue: As there are more to life than money, there are more to business than finances. The inability to understand and believe this is one of the most visible qualities of a bad leader. This of course should with the doctrine that money is one of the most important things needed in a business.

However, when the leaders focus solely on the income which would increase their pockets by the end of the day to the detriment of every other thing, they would risk alienating the workers in which they need the most. The satisfactions of the employees are as important as the income which comes into the business. This is because, when the employees are driven away by focusing on the wrong areas of the business or prioritizing the wrong thing, they do loss out on so much more other than the money.

8. Not Focused On the Customer: A good leader should be one who is focused on the customer in other to make sure that the customers are satisfied. They need to identify their market and know whom they are serving, and how they can satisfy their needs better than others who provide same needs. If a leader is not focused on doing this, he or she is a bad leader.

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9. Poor Communication Skills: A good leader should be able to communicate rightly with his followers in a variety of ways. A leader who cannot do this is not a good leader. A leader who has poor approach with human communication should not lead as it would turn to bad leadership.

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka ACMC

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.