What Do You Learn From Bad Leaders?

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How do you really learn how to be a good leader? Do you learn what you need to know from books? Maybe those all day courses that cover everything you need to know in 6 hours. Or, maybe you have a coach.

Those sources provide information, but when faced with the real situations that arise every day we tend to follow the example our own leaders set.

Throughout my career in leadership, I’ve been blessed with many good leaders who helped me learn the finer points of the art. These men and women gave me opportunities and were patient with me as I developed as a leader. They gave me good examples, setting the bar pretty high. My leadership education began long before the current push towards mentoring. It’s not that mentoring did not occur, but it just didn’t need a formal name. Helping other’s learn and succeed was just part of the overall responsibility that went with leadership.

I wasn’t always fortunate enough to have great leaders in every situation. Unfortunately, I’ve also endured a few bad leaders along the way. They too taught lessons, though that learning was definitely not as much fun. It’s from these less than stellar leaders I developed my philosophy that bad leadership is still leadership. When placed in a leadership position, a failure to provide good leadership, or any at all, is still a form of leading. In one case a bad leader demonstrated quite well, and to the detriment of the entire organization, that leadership is situational and one approach doesn’t work with everyone; a truth that’s especially evident in larger organizations. But, I wouldn’t have really understood this lesson if I hadn’t had all those good examples for comparison.

There’s a saying that you can learn more from a bad leader than a good leader. Yes, bad leaders teach us lessons, but we really learn good leadership from good leaders. Bad leaders just help us see why the good leaders are more effective.

Are you keeping track of the lessons good leaders are demonstrating? Are you also learning from those leaders who are not as good at leading?

Just as important, others are watching you. What sort of leadership lessons are you providing?

Get some tips to help you be a better leaders with Don’t Worry, You Can Do This! What New Supervisors and Managers Need to Know About Leadership.