Many leaders have never noticed the sword suspended over their heads and have become terrible bosses. Learn to identify them through the following signals.

1. How to identify a bad leader
By David Kiger
Image courtesy of
pixabay.com
at pexels.com

2. One of the most desired positions, and, at the same time, one of the
misunderstood wishes, is leadership (in any organization). The Greek
legend of the sword of Damocles teaches us an important lesson about
being a leader. The story says that Damocles, a subject of King Dionysus,
always flattered and envied his leader for his position. The King, knowing
the hidden desires of Damocles, invited him to exchange roles and
allowed him to sit on his throne. The subject, now King, realized that
over the throne was a sword suspended by a thin horsehair, threatening
to fall on his head at any time. It is a lesson for everyone who desires
power too much, because being a leader is not always easy or desirable.
However, many leaders have never noticed the sword suspended over
their heads and have become terrible bosses. Learn to identify them
through the following signals (and, please, do not fall into their
mistakes).
Related: Some of the worst business leaders and CEOs that United States
has seen

3. Lack of communication
One of the signs of bad leadership is, of course, not valuing communication
with employees. A bad leader may spend long periods of time locked in his
office or ignoring emails and calls from employees. He may consider that
listening to others is not a priority but an interruption. Bad leaders do not
listen to the opinions of others and do not seem to care. Bad
communicators can also be ineffective to transmit new information on
corporate policies and procedures, which may affect the work of
employees.
Avoid difficult decisions
Deciding is perhaps one of the most difficult things in life. Kierkegaard, the
Danish philosopher, said that freedom is a constant source of anxiety. The
fear of failure is always there, hanging over the throne. However, someone
has to take decisions and that’s a leader. Excuses to avoid deciding,
because it is not the right time, because there’s nothing they can do,
because the mistakes of employees are not the problem of leader… are
clear signs of bad leadership. A good leader always decides. Sometimes
they can go wrong, someone will always question his decisions, but he will
not wait that everything gets better by doing nothing.

4. Scare tactics
Leaders sometimes use fear because they try to get their
subordinates to follow the guidelines as an effective motivation
strategy. For example, they can send a message to all employees
saying that if the company’s production does not recover, many
will lose their jobs. Similar threats can often be
counterproductive. Fear can cause stress, and taken to the
extreme, reduces efficiency.
The common use of fear occurs when leaders create a mentality
of "us against them" in which you need to hate someone. “Fear
is never a good incentive for a company,” says David Kiger, chief
executive officer of Worldwide Express. “It makes groups and
organizations to dig in their heels and drive them into a mode of
self-protection that can stifle creativity and innovation.”

5. A bad leader never congratulates his employees
Employees make mistakes, and when they do, leaders help
them to fix the mistake and teaches them how not to fall into
the pit again. It’s terrible when it doesn’t happen and a boss is
always pointing the half-full glass, but the opposite error is
awful too: to completely ignore the achievements of his
subordinates. Nobody wants to work for someone who never
notices the good work. If employees feel that everything they
do is mediocre or wrong, their commitment to the company
will be affected. A leader must be able to praise when it’s
necessary.

6. Confusing friendship and business
There is a golden rule: do not mix friendship with business.
This is useful because the confidence we have with friends is
not compatible with business. In business, results are a
priority, while in friendship, the strengthening social ties is
more important (and the latter doesn’t produce money.) A
good leader will not send confusing signals: from the very
beginning, they will make you know that during work he won’t
be your pal. He is your boss and you're his employee. A
characteristic sign of bad leaders is their great kindness before
you make a mistake, and this is produced by a wrong idea they
gave you about mixing friendship and business.

7. Empty promises
Bad leaders motivate those who follow them with false
promises of promotions, success and great futures. But they
rarely keep their word. Leaders who do this can be very
manipulative and often talk too much about the goals and
aspirations of his followers to force them to work better.
As a business leader, you must be careful with this. If you
promise to do something but it never happens in the long run,
you can send a very negative message to your employees and
they will learn not to trust you anymore.

8. Badmouthing
There are leaders who badmouth when others are not
present. They despise their work, their abilities, or whatever.
Those words undermine the morale of other workers who
ignore what is said about them when they are not present. If
you listen to a leader badmouthing about someone, keep in
mind that he will do the same to you.