Bad Bosses as Leaders - Discovering What’s Wrong

It is well documented that people stay engaged at work or not because of their relationship with their boss. Your boss may have great interpersonal skills or drive you out the door to the nearest competitor. Companies and law firms that retain their talent have emotionally intelligent leaders that are respectful of people.

I am the executive coach of a CEO who exemplifies great leadership habits. He recently announced that his strategy was to sell the company in one to three years. He was so respectful in his transparency with his people that motivation is higher than ever and retention is not an issue. I coach other leaders who are so lacking in emotional intelligence that people are disengaged and heading for the door as soon as they can line up another job.

What type of leader are you?

Leadership Habits

Identifying the bad leadership habits you’ve accumulated over your career is a task that requires astute investigation, usually through a 360-degree assessment and interviews. When gathering and giving feedback, the interviewer must be sensitive, providing reassurances of confidentiality. Usually, an experienced executive coach will deliver such feedback in a way that prevents you from becoming defensive. This allows you to hear it without taking a huge ego hit.

Ask anyone who works about bosses, and you’ll hear ready recollections of the two types they’ve worked for: the ones they’ve loved and the ones they couldn’t wait to escape. When asked for a list of defining qualities, most people identify the following attributes:

Good Boss                    Bad Boss

Great listener                 Blank wall
Encourager                    Doubter
Communicator               Secretive
Courageous                   Intimidating
Sense of humor              Bad temper
Shows empathy             Self-centered
Decisive                         Indecisive
Takes responsibility        Blames
Humble                          Arrogant
Shares authority             Mistrusts

According to Social Intelligence author Daniel Goleman, work groups in dozens of countries, across all professions, will produce similar lists. The best bosses are those who are trustworthy, empathic and who connect with us. They make us feel calm, appreciated and inspired.

The worst bosses are distant, difficult and arrogant. They make us feel uneasy, at best, and resentful, at worst.

Understanding the defining qualities of bad bosses doesn’t really explain how their subordinates developed their perceptions. It often takes several faulty interactions to establish a perception. It may be glaringly obvious that a boss is arrogant; more often, however, impressions build up over time, based on unintended and misaligned interactions.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the BarOn EQi can help you identify any bad leadership habits and develop emotional intelligence competency.