Assignment

Topic:

Characteristics of an ineffective leader, and

how a firm can avoid it?

Submitted to:

Mr. Ali Abdullah

Submitted by:
Muhammad Imran

Roll No. 08031020-0007

MBA 3rd Semester

Dated:08:01:2010
Poor Character:
A leader who lacks character or integrity will not endure the test of
time. It doesn’t matter how intelligent, affable, persuasive, or savvy a person is, if they are
prone to rationalizing unethical behavior based upon current or future needs they will
eventually fall prey to their own undoing.
Little or No Track Record:
While past performance is not always a certain indicator of future
events, a long-term track record of success should not be taken lightly. Someone who has
consistently experienced success in leadership roles has a much better chance of success
than someone who has not. Bottom line…unproven leaders come with a high risk premium.
Poor Communication Skills:
Show me a leader with poor communication skills and I’ll show you
someone who will be short-lived in their position. Great leaders can communicate
effectively across mediums, constituencies, and environments. They are active listeners,
fluid thinkers, and know when to press-on and when to back-off.
Self-Serving Nature:
If a leader doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self”
they will not engender the trust, confidence, and loyalty of those they lead. Any leader is
only as good as his or her team’s desire to be led by them. An over abundance of ego,
pride, and arrogance are not positive leadership traits. Long story short; if a leader receives
a vote of non-confidence from their subordinates…game over.
One Size Fits All Leadership Style:
Great leaders are fluid and flexible in their approach. They understand
the power of, and necessity for contextual leadership. “My way or the highway” leadership
styles don’t play well in today’s world, will result in a fractured culture, and ultimately a
non-productive organization. Only those leaders who can quickly recognize and adapt their
methods to the situation at hand will be successful over the long haul.
Lack of Focus and Follow-Through:
Those leaders who lack the focus and attention to detail needed to
apply leverage and resources in an aggressive and committed fashion will perish. Leaders
who do not possess a bias toward action, or who cannot deliver on their obligations will
not be successful. Leadership is about performance…Intentions must be aligned with
results for leaders to be effective.
Bearing:
The in effective leader does not have the patience and get
hyper very soon in frustration or in any dealing with a complex matter. He can not
stabilize his feelings in the complex situations.

Courage:
 Lack of courage is also a characteristic of an ineffective leader.
He have no interest in performing his duties effectively. Due to this he could not properly
guide his subordinates.
Decisiveness:
The lack of decisiveness is also a characteristic of the
ineffective leader. He have no ability to settle or end something such as a debate ,
controversy, or contest.

Assertiveness:
Most of them were driven people, focused only on winning and
proving themselves to be better than anyone else. Regardless of their background or
experience, they shared a common tendency to obsessive behavior. Even when they climbed
to the top, they couldn’t stop trying to outdo whatever they had done before. Their business,
however enormous when they arrived, had to become still bigger—so they engaged in risky
acquisitions and mergers and bloated their organizations beyond the point where anyone
could manage them. However much they ‘earned’, if someone else earned more they had first
to catch up, then overtake them. I think any sign of such tendencies in the future should be
obvious grounds for barring such a person from a leadership role.

Misuse of authority:
They surrounded themselves with ‘yes men’ who were dependent
on them. Questioning was strongly discouraged. Disagreement became a reason for career
death or dismissal. Whistle-blowers were first muzzled, then sacked, then persecuted. The
atmosphere on the executive floor tended, in most cases, to be more like the palace of a tin-
pot dictator than somewhere people worked together to find the best strategies for
shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers. Intolerance of criticism should be another
instant killer of leadership ambitions.

Impervious to criticism:
They were usually impervious to criticism and blind to
alternatives. Typically, there were only two approaches to any issue: theirs and the wrong
one. Narrow-minded adherence to the status quo was another characteristic most of these
people shared. Their instant response to any notion of change was to equate it with
disloyalty. Narrow-mindedness and intolerance for change should be the next items on the
list of absolute blockages to promotion.

Isolated:
Nearly all allowed themselves to become isolated from the
real world. They spent their days in the executive suite, where ordinary mortals were not
allowed. They traveled on private jets, so they wouldn’t have to rub shoulders with the ‘great
unwashed’ in airports. They lived in mansions in elite, gated communities; played golf on the
most private of private courses; and never had contact with anyone outside the charmed
circle of the rich. Isolation like this warps your judgment, so anyone who behaves that way
isn’t fit to be a leader.

Isolated from reality:

They valued loyalty more than ability and fitting-in more
than expertise. Most of them distrusted anyone they suspected of knowing more than they
did. Since they isolated themselves from reality, and became obsessively afraid of any
alternatives to their way of doing things, the true number of people who knew more than they
did was rather large. They demanded that everyone fit in with their wishes and prejudices.
They prized loyalty to them above obligations to anything or anyone else. Someone who
demands unquestioning loyalty and wants others to make them feel comfortable all the time
is displaying clear unfitness for high office in a corporation (or anywhere else).

political consideration:
They made political considerations the most important
criteria for decisions. Nearly all these high-profile, ineffective leaders reached the top more
by political skills than technical or administrative ones. All leaders have to deal with politics
—I don’t believe an organization exists that doesn’t have some kind of political process and
agenda—but the worst ones tend to be those who enjoy politics most and prefer it to any
other activity. A continual focus on what is politically desirable quickly blinds them to any
other criteria, including ethics and plain commonsense. There should be no way that anyone
can get to the top, or even near it, purely on the basis of playing politics.

power crazed:
They kowtowed to anyone they thought was more powerful
than them—and bullied anyone they believed was weaker. One of the commonest situations
in the current mess has been the board of directors browbeaten by a super-powerful CEO
intent on taking them somewhere for his or her own glory, regardless of the risks. Each
executive was probably tough to the point of being domineering on his or her own ground.
But put them in a room with the CEO and they gave in on just about every issue. People
outside the situation couldn’t imagine why no one had stopped the power-crazed CEO from
driving the business off a cliff. Those who might have done it were too timid—and too eager
to curry favor—to try. No one who is a bully should be allowed to become a leader. No one
should be considered leadership material who is not solidly independent. There’s no place in
the boardroom or the executive suite for moral cowards and crawlers.

Selfishness:
An in effective leader also a characteristic of selfishness. He
prefers his personal objects on the firms objects. Due to this the organization may suffer huge
losses.
How a firm can avoid an ineffective leader:
 For success to be achieved in most organizations the leader must develop a clear mission
and vision, and communicate them effectively so that they are understood by staff.
 Another issue of great importance is for the leader to act as the role model, and actively
pursue an organizational culture that is centered on being the best - a culture of
excellence.
 A clear, challenging and quantifiable vision should be developed that will be viewed as
achievable by staff and one that can easily be related to. It will be important for the leader
to plan, identify and set timings for key stages in achievement of the vision and convey to
others the significance and relevance of the vision to the organisation's future.
 The plan to achieve the vision should provide a platform that staff can relate to. Staff
should be able to identify the impact they will have on the vision plan and with coaching
and encouragement from the leader be comfortable in the knowledge of what is expected
of them.
 The Mission Statement should set out the organisation's purpose in society, its values, its
standards, the way it will behave and how it will deliver its services and products to
customers. The values should reflect commitment to the customers and other stakeholders
and offer guidance on the expected behaviour and culture of the business.
 With the Mission and Vision Statements in place it will be incumbent upon the leader to
demonstrate his/her personal involvement in the development of the organisation's
management structure. It will be necessary for the leader to convey to others the rationale
behind the chosen management system and to demonstrate that despite being subject to
occasional change the management structure will substantially deliver a consistent
approach at all times throughout the business.
 Good leaders will also be actively involved with customers, suppliers, members of the
local community, trade associations and all other stakeholders in the business. The
purpose behind such action will be to:
• enhance the reputation of the business
• grow the business through greater exposure
• work with others to reach agreement on difficult issues
• be the role model for the organization
• be seen as a company others wish to do business with
Change is inevitable and leaders should manage it effectively. Change should be understood, the
benefits to be derived evaluated and the change communicated to all affected parties before
action is taken. As part of this process it will be necessary for leaders to listen to others,
appreciate concerns may exist, overcome objections to change and motivate staff to personal and
business success.