Some stuff went down at work this week and it became clear that I probably have to step up my game and play more of a leadership role when it comes to our team. I just stumped on this article about different leaders called Every Leader Has Flaws. Don't Let Yours Derail Your Strategy. They have these leaders (quoted from the article) and I know someone who fits into each of these categories.
The Overconfident, Chronically Certain Leader
An overconfident, chronically certain leader has a tendency to overpromise and develop unrealistic strategies. This creates unnecessary anxiety for the people charged with their execution. These leaders also suffer from myopia and over-determinism, oblivious to the impact of longer-term trends, complex dynamics, and disruption from new entrants. By the time they realize what's happening, it's often too late to respond.
The Impulsive Leader
We've all seen the leader with "shiny object syndrome." They can't resist the titillation of a new idea or the latest fad. They crave the adrenaline rush of pioneering what's not been done. In the process, they exhaust their organizations, overcommit resources, and overpromise to customers and shareholders. They tend to speak in flashy, hyperbolic declarations that whip people into frenzies of excitement. This soon dies down once they catch on to the pattern of abandoning last week's big idea to pursue the next one. Instead, they wait it out, unable to sustain focus on something long enough to see it through.
The Rigidly Controlling Leader
Some leaders create a highly controlled environment. Everything — and everyone — works in a prescribed way. They struggle to accommodate novel or nontraditional views. This silences the voices of employees, who in turn produce low-risk, barely incremental strategies in order to avoid their leader's exacting critique. They retreat from coming forward with creative ideas. When it comes time to execute, the fearful organization cowers from trying anything new, making change much slower, if not impossible.
The Insecure Leader
While every leader faces a crisis of confidence at some point, some leaders live with a paralyzing sense of self-doubt. They worry about what others think of them and anxiously expect to fall short. Many find ways of masking these deeper feelings with a confident game face and measured demeanor. Some are overly accommodating and nice. By purchasing the regard of others with benevolence, they reduce their deeper fears of failure and rejection.
An overconfident, chronically certain leader has a tendency to overpromise and develop unrealistic strategies. This creates unnecessary anxiety for the people charged with their execution. These leaders also suffer from myopia and over-determinism, oblivious to the impact of longer-term trends, complex dynamics, and disruption from new entrants. By the time they realize what's happening, it's often too late to respond.
We've all seen the leader with "shiny object syndrome." They can't resist the titillation of a new idea or the latest fad. They crave the adrenaline rush of pioneering what's not been done. In the process, they exhaust their organizations, overcommit resources, and overpromise to customers and shareholders. They tend to speak in flashy, hyperbolic declarations that whip people into frenzies of excitement. This soon dies down once they catch on to the pattern of abandoning last week's big idea to pursue the next one. Instead, they wait it out, unable to sustain focus on something long enough to see it through.
The Rigidly Controlling Leader
Some leaders create a highly controlled environment. Everything — and everyone — works in a prescribed way. They struggle to accommodate novel or nontraditional views. This silences the voices of employees, who in turn produce low-risk, barely incremental strategies in order to avoid their leader's exacting critique. They retreat from coming forward with creative ideas. When it comes time to execute, the fearful organization cowers from trying anything new, making change much slower, if not impossible.
While every leader faces a crisis of confidence at some point, some leaders live with a paralyzing sense of self-doubt. They worry about what others think of them and anxiously expect to fall short. Many find ways of masking these deeper feelings with a confident game face and measured demeanor. Some are overly accommodating and nice. By purchasing the regard of others with benevolence, they reduce their deeper fears of failure and rejection.
