10 Mistakes Poor Leaders Make

I came across this list recently which was apparently put together by Graham Pitts, who was training operations manager at W. H. Smith. He and some colleagues identified 8 " elements of disempowering leadership ". In other words, these are rnthings which leaders do which make their teams weaker and less productive.

See what you think, do you agree with these? If so, can you see how you can avoid these and do the opposite - to empower and inspire the people who work for you?

Can you see what any of the leaders in your organisation are doing which might be on this list and, if so, how can you influence them to change?

1. Stay separate from the people you lead.

2. Avoid being vulnerable by pretending to be confident and knowing all the answers.

3. Don't admit mistakes and so appear defensive.

4. Expect to be attacked.

5. Manipulate situations to get things done.

6. Rely heavily on criticism and rarely praise.

7. Assume there is a conflict between different groups and so create win/lose situations.

8. Pursue power rather than purpose.

A couple I would add from my own experience of working for some poor leaders ( I've worked for some very good ones as well, by the way) are:

9. When you are put under pressure, pass it on to your team rather than absorbing it yourself.

10. Encourage a blame culture, where people are afraid to take risks for fear of the consequences if they make a mistake.