Bad Leaders

There are bad leaders, but you’re probably not one of them

I was talking to a friend last week who had tried, unsuccessfully, to get an executive team aligned on an organizational AI strategy.

“Maybe I’m a bad leader,” she began, describing how the framework she’d tried to rally the team around hadn’t resonated.

Some of the executive leaders were new in their roles. AI was quite emergent at the time (still is, IMO). And my friend is an innovator—often out in front of her peers in her thinking.

She is bright. Thoughtful. Empathetic. She is definitely not a bad leader.

But she is a woman.

I rarely hear male leaders blame themselves when the best-laid workplace plans don’t quite work out. So why do we, as women, assume we’re the problem?

Maybe it’s imposter syndrome. Maybe it’s because we’re socialized to believe that we are.

There’s no question that there are bad leaders out there. Like, lots of them. I suspect we’ve all worked with our fair share. I know I have.

Here’s the thing I’ve found to be pretty universally true about them: They’re not particularly concerned that they might be bad leaders.

They’re not reflective. They don’t doubt themselves. They don’t:

• Question their own leadership

• Wonder if they could have done more, or done better

• Agonize over how their decisions will impact people

They move through life with undeserved self-assurance, blissfully unaware of the wreckage they’ve caused.

As leaders, there is always more that we can do. We all have things we can improve. But that doesn’t make us bad leaders. That makes us human.

If you're thoughtful enough to question your own leadership, chances are you're a better leader than you think.

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Bonus read: It was wonderful to see so many women shatter the glass ceiling this week and claim their power as congresswomen, senators, and governors. ❤️

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