In this article, we’ll explore three more poor leadership habits. Understanding and recognizing these habits means you can take steps to avoid them and create a more engaging work environment for your team.
Toxic leadership habit four — The saboteur
You’d never think that a manager would sabotage their team’s success, but it can happen.
If a toxic leader dislikes a team member, they will do everything to hinder that person’s success.
Sabotage can take many forms, including withholding information, delaying signing off projects, and refusing to provide proper resources such as extra staff and budgets.
Toxic managers can sabotage their team’s work by excluding them from meetings and email groups, giving misinformation about what is required, and changing goals ad hoc.
There is no excuse for this sort of behavior. Remember to look at the facts and not whether you like a person and always treat people kindly, honestly, and fairly.
Give clear goals and get your team the support they need to do their job.
Toxic leadership habit five — Up close and personal
Another nasty habit of toxic leaders is a lack of respect for boundaries.
Whether it’s a physical or emotional boundary, a manager with this poor habit will overstep it.
Boundary-breaking behaviors are getting too close, touching your things, and throwing their smelly rubbish in your bin.
Even worse, some leaders go as far as touching their team members. Arm stroking, touching hair, and hugging are examples of how leaders may invade their team’s personal space.
This behavior puts the team member in a very awkward position.
Leaders with a boundary-breaking habit will also be inquisitive and ask many intrusive questions about your home life.
Nothing is out of bounds. Your friends, hobbies, family, pets, partner, and appearance are all discussed.
Remember to respect your team’s boundaries. They are not your friends. They report to you and may not feel comfortable telling you to back off.
Toxic leadership habit six — Here comes Mr. and Mrs. Right
This harmful leadership habit shows up as a leader always thinking they are right. Everyone else is wrong and doesn’t know what they are doing.
This habit leads to other opinions being regarded as unprofessional, rigid ideas, and biased opinions.
Considering different approaches is not a viable option.
Make sure you listen to your team member’s ideas and opinions and consider their perspective. They may know things that you don’t about the organization, especially if you are new to the company and the role.
Summary
Good leadership relies heavily on people skills which do not come easily to everyone. A certain amount of self-knowledge and self-reflection is also required to be a great leader.
Treat people with respect and try to see situations from your team’s perspective. It will help you avoid falling into toxic habits.
Leadership is all about doing the right things and avoiding the wrong things. Think about admired leaders you know. You will find that their teams judge these leaders on people skills rather than qualifications and experience.