Through all of my projects that I have recently taken on, there is one in particular that has soaked up a lot of my attention and efforts. I enjoy my part in it and feel confident in my ability to help build up the sense of community that we are trying to create. Unfortunately, the primary leader of this – we’ll call him C – is one of the worst leaders I have ever encountered.
Leadership is not something to be taken advantage of. It’s a privilege to be able to help guide others through any sort of process or project. Yet so many times, we find that people get a high off of the power and utilize it to their own advantage versus the benefit of the group as a whole. C regularly uses his position to make the determining decision on certain situations, finding loopholes so that he can have the final say. He also will talk over people when he doesn’t want to hear what they have to say. Most notably for me personally, he will be dismissive of certain ideas and later claim them as his own.
Another aspect of this is that leaders need to be able to delegate different projects to other people. For instance, C has a tendency to take on as many pieces of the puzzle as possible. It’s apparent that he struggles to trust others with these tasks, so he hoards them for himself. Because of this, he’s not able to give as much attention to everything. On the flip side of the same coin, the tasks that he does give to others are micromanaged. He won’t just let someone do their job; instead, he tries to do it for them or tells them that they should do it his way.
C’s lack of true leadership skills is a testament to how the power can get to someone’s head. In order to be a great and respected leader, have a little humility. Let others help and be willing to help them when needed. Listen and let your team know that their ideas are desired. Don’t tear your team apart – build it up.
