Effective Leadership

Passive-aggressive leaders share some familiar traits. For example, when interacting with a coworker or employee, they might be nice to them outright but negative about them behind their back, which is dishonest and disrespectful. This type of leader might say yes to a task but not follow through. They procrastinate and avoid handling matters, which has an impact on productivity and growth in the company. They don’t seem to mean what they say or say what they mean.

 Passive-aggressive leaders prefer debate to dialogue. A debate means there’s a winner, and there’s a loser. A dialogue means all parties are interested in what the others have to say. There are times for debate, but if it’s happening on a regular basis, it will dampen morale and discourage [people] from speaking up.

 Passive-aggressive leaders are "Dualistic-thinker", who see the world in right or wrong and nothing in between, also fail to create a collaborative environment. This is a dangerous thought process for a leader. This restrictive way of thinking means a leader is limiting judgments, narrowing perspective and missing opportunities to discover strengths and talents. It could result in some employees being underutilized and others being overutilized.

Either-or thinking can be detrimental to the development [of the organization] and to competitive outcomes. A collaborative approach is a helpful alternative. It’s how a leader attracts the best in the industry and sets the tone for empowering, motivating and innovating. Also, it’s how individuals feel valued and that their contributions matter.

Another detrimental leadership mistake is not recognizing unconscious biases. Effective leadership requires that individuals dig deep and consider how their bias affects policies, procedures, other people and the organization itself. Self-awareness is also key.

Leaders can learn about themselves by listening to their internal dialogue and watching their behavior around different people. This requires questioning what they say, what they think and what they do.
If we do not know what the message is, we cannot question it.

None of us is as smart as all of us,” to explain why fostering honest communication, collaboration and inclusion is valuable to a company and its desirability to potential talent. Everyone has unique strengths, talents, potential. [Everyone] hasn’t seen or experienced the world exactly the same as another person has.