Leadership Behavior

Leadership behavior is essential to the culture of any organization. Good leadership attributes build and develop positive employees as well as support innovation and empowerment. However, negative leadership behaviors can create a toxic environment which can decrease productivity and the creative innovation necessary to remain competitive in an industry.

It is essential to continuously manage leadership traits in order to avoid developing negative leadership characteristics. Kellerman (2004) writes that bad leadership occurs when proper checks and balances are not put in place to manage boundaries. In addition to being held accountable, it is important for leaders to continually assess their approach and behaviors to determine whether they are developing healthy habits which empower employees, or negative ones which undercut them.

Non supportive or manipulative people can bring negative behavior to leadership roles. One of the most negative leadership behaviors I have experienced is when a middle manager failed to support their team in the presence of a higher-ranking director. Our team was discussing and brainstorming ideas to support a new initiative to be rolled out. We were discussing creative and out of the box ideas that would help our company streamline processes and our manager was giving us very positive feedback. However, weeks later when we had the opportunity to express our ideas to a high-ranking director, our manager changed her supportive tone and distanced herself from some of the ideas. It was cowardly for our manager to not show the same support for our idea in front of her supervisor as she did in our team meeting. She had not let us know that she changed her opinion, making it look like she was trying to save face and impress her director at the expense of her team. Our manager has the right to change her mind; however, she should went about addressing it differently. Management support is essential in empowering employees and instilling trust and relationship. The manager’s actions made the team feel betrayed, causing its members to share their ideas less. As any learning organization thrives on continuous innovation, stifling the expression of creative ideas by failing to show support in public can limit the success and competitiveness of the company.

Negative leadership behavior, whether disguised as directive or supportive leadership, can be detrimental to the success of an entire company. Roy West, a senior scientist at the Gallup Organization, asserts that “Leaders have to earn the right to retain the services of the best and brightest, every day, by the way they conduct themselves” (Hein, 2013). The best and the brightest will only remain at a company if they feel valued and appreciated (Lubit, 2004). The manager’s actions showed she was more than willing to throw her team under the bus in order to distance herself from an idea she thought her director would not like. This significantly decreased the trust and respect the team had for her and created a toxic work environment. Research shows that employee perceptions about leader trust are essential to their ability to feel fulfilled at work, and significantly contributes to their decision to stay or leave (Curphy, & Hogan, 1994). As leadership behavior is such an important factor in organizational success and employee empowerment, it is essential to manage, strengthen and improve it.

In order to improve the quality of leadership leaders must be continuously held accountable for their actions. Whether from their team or supervisor, leaders must be a part of an ongoing checks and balance system to help them maintain responsibility for their actions. It is recommended that leaders also set aside time to receive valuable feedback from their peers and subordinates. Monthly meetings to discuss organizational progress as well as the leader relationship and behavior will help the leader stay in tuned with the perspectives of his or her team. As some may find it difficult to approach a leader with feedback for fear of retaliation, it is important for leaders to create an inviting time and space to listen to concerns or areas of opportunity. While these things can improve leadership behavior, mutual respect is the crux of any relationship between leaders and their team. As a result, all leaders must understand this basic principle as well as the implications for trust and communication that come with it.

References

Hein, R. (2013). 11 Profiles in Bad Leadership Behavior. CIO

Hogan R, Curphy GJ, Hogan J. (1994) What we know about leadership. Effectiveness and personality. American Psychology.

Kellerman, B. (2004) Bad Leadership: What it is, how it happens, why it matters,  Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Lubit, R.H. (2004) Coping with Toxic Managers, Subordinates...and other difficult people, Upper Saddle River: Financial Times Prentice Hall