Leaders make decisions on a daily basis and these decisions define their destiny, including the teams they lead. This aspect of leadership makes it one of the most crucial factors for an organisation’s future and success.
At times leaders shun away from making the right decisions. Making decisions force leaders to execute on difficult tasks or open a can of worms with the expectation from the leader to fix it. When leaders foresee the challenges and discomfort these decisions might bring, they find ways to drag their feet and pass the buck to someone down the road or to some other team. Worse would be when senior leaders allow this to perpetrate and cause collateral damage for the company. This makes it very difficult and painful for the team and the new leader who has to clean up.
How do we identify such leaders? Some common characteristics of such leaders are that, they are not open to think differently and don’t appreciate team members who propose change and different ways. They play safe and love status quo. They kill new ways of doing things as that might involve risk and additional work to make it better. They are comfortable to coast and ready to move on when change becomes inevitable. They make frequent job moves and move from job to job before their work or lack of action catches up with them.
What are your options when you work for such leaders? Easy answer is ” Bad leadership is like bad weather and you have to wait it out”.
The other way to handle this is to consistently make small incremental changes to move the needle and find ways to showcase it to the rest of the organisation. If things don’t change and you find yourself losing your edge, find another team where change is appreciated or another organisation that does not stifle change and is growing.
Key Takeaway: Don’t become a victim of your environment. Push for change and challenge status quo ! Take ownership and control of your career.
– Samuel Seelam
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