Identify Bad Leaders Early: Traits That Signal Trouble
You’ve promoted (or hired) a manager and they aren’t meeting expectations, but maybe you think it’s not that bad.
The cost of poor management, however, is higher than you might think.
They may be great at parts of their job, and you really don’t want to have to recruit and rehire (it’s so much work).
The impact a poor leader has on their peers and team is immense. Rather than dealing with the issue manager, you might actually lose other key employees. A high turnover rate damages credibility, productivity and morale. Consider these statistics:
An entry level employee costs 30-50% of their annual salary to replace; a mid-level employee costs 150% and above to replace (Source)
39% of employees quit a job because of a bad manager (Source)
82% of workers would consider quitting their job because of a bad manager (Source)
While it is likely impossible to clearly calculate cost and risk, however it is likely higher than we originally believe.
So, how do you know if a manager is putting your organization at risk? Look for these warning signs.
Lack of Skills
Micromanagement
Rather than empower employees, they micromanage their team. They want to make (or approve) all decisions.
Failure to delegate and empower others leads to frustration and disengagement, as well as, a bottleneck as everything needs to flow through one person. Additionally, the manager can not get their work done as they are spending too much time either doing or managing unnecessary work.
Poor Communication
Their communication is either ineffective or inconsistent. Perhaps, they are holding key information as a secret rather than sharing it, or they do not check information that they do share and it is incorrect.
As a result, there is a lack of transparency and misunderstandings and frustration result. Some poor managers will tell information to some people, but not others. They create an environment of secrecy as they play the role of “Holder of Knowledge.”
Incompetence
They do not have the skills to manage people. They make mistakes, make poor decisions, can’t answer questions or solve problems.
Incompetent leaders create resentment which can cause key individuals to leave the organization. They do not achieve the results required which costs the organization time, money and relationships.
Lack of Emotional Intelligence
Not Receptive to Feedback
They might not seek feedback, or they dismiss criticism outright. They will often react defensively and try to justify their actions when they are called out on their actions. They blame others and have excuses about why others are wrong (or are out to get them).
Sometimes, they will retaliate against people they feel are critical of them.
The avoid responsibility and accountability, and blame others.
Feedback is required to grow and improve, so leaders who are not receptive, often also lack skills and do not improve.
Arrogance
They may have an ego or come across as arrogant. They overestimate their abilities and take undue credit. They dismiss (or fail to solicit) team input.
Arrogance diminishes trust and creates a barrier to building a strong team. Resentment emerges when people do not feel valued, and often, people will leave the organization.
Lack of Interpersonal Skills
Lack of Empathy
They can’t understand others’ perspectives, concerns or situations. They ignore employee well-being. They don’t consider the impact on others when making decisions and are unsupportive when people come to them with issues or challenges.
Empathy and understanding are critical leadership traits today. Leaders who lack these are not able to build trust with their employees which hurts productivity, psychological safety and can cause turnover.
Favoritism/Bias
They play favorites and create a double standard of expectations through preferential treatment of some which creates a culture of resentment. They will ignore merit in favour of personal preferences. They create a divide amongst the team (the in vs out crowd).
Fairness is very important to the younger generations and they will leave organizations if they feel they are being treated unfairly. Favoritism also causes resentment and can pit people and teams against each other.
How to Spot These Warning Signs Early
Gather Employee Feedback
Encourage people to bring up issues and be supportive when they do. Use 360 degree reviews or skip meetings (where you meet with your direct report’s team). If you do skip meetings, you need to ensure you keep the meeting solutions focused and not just a gripe fest). Ensure you maintain confidentiality when addressing issues with the leader.
Conduct Regular Performance Reviews
Rather than an annual performance review, gather feedback and share it throughout the year on an informal (or formal) basis. You can use 360 reviews to help with these too. Look for patterns and don’t ignore warning signs.
Observations
Ensure that you have the opportunity to observe them in action. Create a culture where it is acceptable for you to attend some of their meetings and pay attention to how they lead the meeting, but also, how others participate (or don’t).
Monitor whether they meet key performance indicators, as well as, how their team does. If they miss expectations, note whether they blame others, or take responsibility. When their team succeeds, do they share credit, or do they take it for themselves.
Data
Regularly review data such as employee turnover and goal achievement. Conduct exit interviews using a neutral 3rd party (ie: don’t have the direct manager conduct exit interviews; rather use HR, or another senior leader).
How Can You Nurture Effective Managers?
Encourage Open Feedback
Foster open communication; give regular feedback and encourage them to bring issues or challenges to you.
Use 360 degree feedback tools, skip meetings and other mechanisms to gather employee input
Foster a culture of growth (which includes feedback and discovering blind spots)
Observational Strategies
Spend time with them and their team observing and supporting.
Look for consistent patterns of negative traits.
Analyze Turnover Rates and Morale
Conduct exit interviews
Use an employee morale measurement tool
Pay attention to the data
Prompt Intervention
Address with issues promptly. Waiting prolongs the issue, so give feedback quickly and if you need to give warnings, do not delay.
Face the challenge; don’t avoid issues.
Ensure you have HR protocols (or support) for addressing issues.
Model the Way
Build a culture of good leadership. Demonstrate the skills and abilities you expect from them.
Offer training and mentorship.
Create accountability and openness.