Recently I facilitated a meeting of COO and “Chiefs of Staff” from large organizations focused on public policy issues.
In confidence, they shared concerns about the changes in leadership behavior by their bosses. Many were worried their boss was slowly adopting the leadership traits of the current resident of the Oval Office.
The group developed an inventory to monitor the shift.
I share this resource to raise this issue for leadersto reflect on their own behaviors.
Does your boss:
Have an obsession with personal appearance?
Stare at you quizzically, wondering why you are taking so long to bestow compliments?
Consider loyalty a key qualifier?
Ask you to say bad things about your peers?
Base their leadership on projecting superiority?
Need to hear or tell stories about other people’s weaknesses?
Ask you to pick a fight on their behalf?
Consider “winning” and industry rankings as the most important metric?
Dismiss the expertise or competence of others?
Self-assuredly throw out data and opinions without feeling the need to double-check?
Find ways to privately put down or devalue the competence of others?
Always make problems someone else’s fault?
Treat women and under represented leaders and peers with distain?
Believe and say no one has ever been a better leader than they are?
Describe adversaries as defective?
Discredit former leaders and erase them from the organization’s history the moment they exit the circle of loyalty?
Frequently make comments about how nobody can do anything right?
Diminish your accomplishments?
Trivialize or make fun of your competence or expertise?
Have an immediate negative reaction to any criticism?
Take credit for the accomplishments of others and sideline those who did the real work?
Use PR staff to condemn bad news as inaccurate, provide only positive information even in crisis, and protect the boss at all costs?
Threaten to withhold funds or support unless there is full compliance with the leader’s perspective?
Create discord with peers in trade and professional associations in an effort to take over the organization through innuendo and intimidation of others?
