Sure, whatever works.
Dubai-based Akriti Vaswani, a corporate communications manager, recalls resorting to using those words in her first few months as a manager. Having never managed a team before, she was unsure how to gain their respect and keep everyone satisfied. To avoid any heated argument, she often compromised by saying "sure, whatever works", when faced with differing opinions.
Sadly, that approach never panned out. The consequences were severe: Plummeting productivity, disengaged team members, and a furious CEO. It took Vaswani a long time to regain her confidence, and only then could she inspire her team to follow her lead. As she puts it, “Bad leadership isn't always about overt aggression or self-promotion. Sometimes, the most subtle behaviours, like avoiding conflict or constantly seeking approval, can be just as detrimental.”
Sometimes, it's often difficult to spot the warning signs of bad leadership until it's too late. Abu Dhabi-based Odette Ivan, a British-French expat, a media professional, recalls having the ‘friendliest’ and most helpful manager that she had ever had. “He was always so supportive and would encourage us to be the best versions of ourselves. I never had a manager like that, so I thought that this was what an actual leader looked like,” she says. However, beneath the friendly facade, she discovered a leader who lacked clear plans, goals, and expectations. “He would quickly change his decisions under pressure, have vague, unrealistic targets and keep asking us for advice. How would we know?”
Worse, he started asking, “I made a good decision, right? Right?”
‘Communication is a big indicator…’
Ivan and Vaswani's experiences highlight how poor leadership, characterised by inconsistency and confusion, can derail a team and stifle growth.
Elaborating on the various red flags that are associated with being a poor leader, Gurveen Ranger, a Dubai-based psychologist at Sage Clinics explains that first and foremost, communication is vital. It is an essential indicator how effective someone is as a leader. “Lack of communication through unclear instructions, inconsistent information or lack of availability for feedback and discussion can leave team members feeling isolated and frustrated,” she says. A good leader conveys empathy and understanding to their team, however, leaders who tend to disregard employees' feelings, needs or individual circumstances, create disengagement and resentment in the team. Additional factors that can contribute to a toxic work environment include favouritism and blame-shifting.
Moreover, there are leaders who tend to micromanage their team, which leaves their members feeling stifled in terms of creativity, she explains. Every aspect of their work is controlled. Kristine Shirley, a workplace wellness, and mindset coach echoes this sentiment and adds, “People tend to micromanage, because they don’t trust their team. These kinds of leaders fear failure, as they believe that their team will not achieve the required targets. It’s also a sign that they, themselves, lack of confidence and are just insecure. Nevertheless, this lack of trust is apparent and corrosive, and creates an atmosphere of hostility and crippling anxiety."
Effective leaders must have conviction in their decision-making skills and stand by their choices, explain Shirley and Ranger. Ambivalence and inconsistency just wreak chaos in the team. For example, announcing a strategy and then changing it abruptly, or making rash decisions at the last minute, can disrupt the team's work and morale.
The perils of intuition
Sometimes, your gut instinct really isn’t enough.
Dubai-based Anirudh Ghosh (name changed on request), a public relations professional recalls a manager who functioned on intuition. His boss would ‘just feel like’ deciding something that no one could understand, and it almost, always, backfired.
For instance, they had to manage the crisis communication for an important corporation involved in a product recall. The CEO hastily issued a statement, apologising for the inconvenience, promising to investigate the matter further. He assumed that a low-key approach could minimise media attention and allow the company to resolve the issue internally. “The problem was the complete lack of transparent communication, or proactive measures to address consumer concerns as the rest of us were suggesting, were all just ignored,” says Ghosh, recalling the backlash against the brand that followed. “We were just criticised for handling the situation badly.”
Explaining why the over-reliance on intuition in a leadership position, is dangerous, Shirley explains, “It is often based on personal experiences, biases, and emotions, which can make it unreliable. Moreover, these decisions are not backed by data or evidence, which makes it difficult to assess their effectiveness or identify potential risks. This leads to missed opportunities, as they do not weigh possible options or outcomes.” It leads to an erosion of trust in the organisation.
As she says, there needs to be a balance between intuition and data-driven decision-making. “Intuition is beneficial and valuable, but it cannot be the sole force behind a decision,” she says. “You need to collect as much data and evidence as possible before deciding and seek input from others to get a variety of viewpoints. Use your intuition as a guide, but also consider the evidence available.”
How does bad leadership impact a team?
There’s a stifling sense of lethargy and growing indifference in the team, for one.
Dubai-based Atika Samuel, a corporate communications professional remembers the sinking feeling of disinterest that would wash over her as soon as she arrived at work under her previous manager. “It just felt heavy. The yawns kept coming, and everyone was just looking at the watch, waiting to go home,” she recalls. The manager would get agitated, yell at their team every week in the meeting, owing to unsatisfactory work and results, desperately hoping for some change. However, he didn’t change his methods of functioning, and neither did the team change theirs.
That’s the impact of poor leadership. Rangers adds, “The morale of the team hits a low point. There’s no clear direction, a lack of innovation, and the repercussions are where employees feel disengaged, disconnected, and demotivated. Creativity and collaboration may be stifled, and you may see an increase in resistance to change. All of this will likely impact productivity – tasks take longer to complete, and the quality of work is poorer, having a knock-on effect on end-user, customer satisfaction too,” she says.
There’s no clear direction, a lack of innovation, and the repercussions are where employees feel disengaged, disconnected, and demotivated. Creativity and collaboration may be stifled, and you may see an increase in resistance to change. All of this will likely impact productivity – tasks take longer to complete....
Moreover, at an individual level, employees are more likely to experience stress and burnout, and they are also more likely to leave, creating a high staff turnover.
How does one tackle bad leadership?
As Ranger explains, addressing bad leadership requires a thoughtful and strategic approach, especially considering the power imbalance between leaders and employees. Given the emotional and personal risks involved, it can be challenging to confront a problematic manager, particularly in a workplace where you rely on your job for income.
She provides a few ways that a person can tackle poor leadership:
Reflect and gather: Assess the situation to understand the specifics of what is problematic. Document objective examples of where leadership style or behaviour has negatively impacted you or the team.
Understand: Ask yourself questions such as ‘Why might they have done X?’ ‘What might they see form their perspective?’ ‘Are there certain situations or times when they are more likely to respond like this over others or is it across the board?’ This can help understand the leaders’ motives and challenges to gain perspective and give feedback in a way that is more likely to be heard or resonate with them.
Timing is everything: Choosing the most appropriate time and place to have this conversation is imperative. Is it private, is there sufficient time without interruptions?
Stay calm: Maintaining a calm tone, professional and non-confrontational language, and curious questions to understand their responses can help the conversation remain a productive one.
Focus on solutions: Going in with possible solutions rather than blame can help our points be heard. For example, ‘The team could benefit from more regular updates on X’ invites a more receptive response than ‘Your communication is poor.’
Enlist support: If your initial conversation doesn’t produce positive change, then a collective approach with colleagues or Human Resources may help mediate.
Focus on what you can control: If you can’t change the leadership style, how else can you look after yourself at work? How do you contribute to a positive team culture and empower each other? Consider whether you need a plan B if all the above isn’t leading to positive change - it might be worth thinking about the impact of staying in this organisation and role, and whether there are other opportunities that may be healthier for your long-term success and wellbeing.
For leaders trying to change their ways
Everyone can be a manager, but it takes honing of certain skills to be a good leader. Explaining what it takes to be so, Shirley says, “Take responsibility. If you lead a team, you have a duty to guide them with due diligence. Recognise the importance of honing your leadership skills.”
What are these essential skills? They include analytical thinking, innovation, complex problem-solving, emotional intelligence, persuasion, and negotiation, as well as resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility. These qualities define an inspiring leader. A great manager must invest in developing these skills to be seen as a leader who motivates and inspires their team, she says.
Shirley also advises, be empathetically honest. Honesty is always beneficial, but people tend to be brutal and hurtful when conveying their points. Phrase it in such a manner that they know how to improve themselves for the future. Be transparent, too, and don’t try to evade difficult conversations with your team.
Last, don’t be afraid to seek feedback from your team, she says. Get them to share their opinions and views with you and seek feedback from them. Choose to act on what you think makes sense, which shows them that their opinions matter.
