This Is Why Leaders Fail!
Leadership is the most commonly used word when it comes down to the success of an organization, product, group or team. No matter how you slice the success pie, the success pieces all boil down to leadership. There are countless books about how to be a successful leader, 21 laws of leadership, how to go from good to great and the list goes on and on with John Maxwell’s books alone.
There are many reasons that leaders are successful and just as many for why they fail. I am a firm believer that you can learn as much from your failures and working with poor leadership as you can successful leadership. I wrote about that this week in a post entitled Stop Complaining and Start Learning. We know there are many reasons that contribute to a leaders success, What about why they fail? Below is a list of 4 memorable reasons leaders FAIL in an easy to remember acronym FAIL.
- Fake- A leader who attempts to be someone they’re not instead of simply being themselves has a difficult time succeeding, at some point it just catches up to them. This also applies to the leader that has a different face, different persona, different tone, different everything… when certain people are around. In other-words when the big boss comes around they put their fake-face on. Not to say a leader might not make some adjustments when company comes around; however the super-fake-face comes from insecurity of how they act normally. Remember: Don’t be fake, be yourself… “Do You! It’s A Statement… Not A Question!” Fake Leaders Fail!
- Attitude- One of the primary reasons that a leader fails is because of a poor, negative or a no-can-do attitude. If a leader thinks he can fly and has a positive can-do attitude; even though they may not be able to fly they will come darn close. The reason why attitude is important is because that leader’s attitude will rub off on their team members and their followers. Remember: “Attitude reflects leadership, Captain.” ~Julius in Remember The Titans
- Integrity- If a leader doesn’t exhibit a high degree of integrity they will fail. The integrity issues will either catch up to them (what’s done in the dark, will come to light) or those that follow them won’t respect them. If team members or followers don’t respect the a leader, it puts the leader in the place of pushing a snowball up hill… it’s a difficult task. These integrity issues run the gamete: profanity, lying, cheating, stealing, affairs, flirting, yelling, substance abuse, pride-filled decisions etc. I have worked with many high capacity leaders in both the secular world and ministry that have failed because they allowed their integrity to get off track. Remember: Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.
- Lacking- Although I believe that everyone has potential for some degree of leadership in them; the bottom line is that some leaders fail because they are either: a.) Not the leader they think they are, or b.) Promoted above their leadership capacity/leadership role has outgrown them, or c.) Not a visionary, or d.) Not a leader at all! They are lacking what it takes! Remember: Just because someone has an office, role, title or responsibility doesn’t mean they are a leader. Leadership is an art, a skill, a craft, a gift… and it must be developed!
Share your thoughts or add some additional reasons to the list?
16 Responses to “This Is Why Leaders Fail!”
Great article! Point 4B is scary: Promoted above their leadership capacity. Sometimes this happens because of growing responsibility that is outside the leader’s ability; other times it happens because the leader failed to prepare. I wrote a blog post addressing that called the Nightmare of Being Unprepared. So many struggles could be avoided if we would only take initiative and prepare. Thanks for the confirmation!
Great post Scott! Very sobering to read through the four reasons leaders fail. I am reminded of the four I’s of transformational leadership. These all work into those at some point:
1. Inspirational Motivation
2. Idealized Influence
3. Intellectual Stimulation
4. Individual Consideration
Without these a person really isn’t leading.
Have a GREAT day.
Blessings,
Dave
Wow, I just wrote about the same thing too. God must be trying to get a message across to leaders!
I believe God chooses the ones to lead his people the world wont always respond to proper leadership the majority opinion is not necessarily God,s will. Jeremiah had the endurance you mentioned but he was hardly listened to. He saw a spiritual awakening and his nation return to idolatry. Though his life was often threatened he responded to all with God’s message and human tears.Jeremiah 1:6-8 “Ah, Sovereign LORD, I said, ‘I dont know how to speak; I am only a child.’But the LORD said to me,’Do not say “I am only a child.” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you ,’ declares the LORD.” leaders fail because they leave God’s will .
A good leader also knows the appropriate words of truth to speak at the appropriate time. When disaster strikes an individual or nation, it is time to speak words of comfort, not condemnation. Let’s bind the wounds first, then correct the error.
Great reminders Scott, fantastic post.
• PRIDE- Success is a Intoxicator that fools you into believing something you are not and that the hard, careful work is over. Stay humble. Always.
• COMMUNICATION- I hate to say it but the person who speaks the clearest in the meeting has the greatest influence, people who get a clear, well spoken picture will flock to listen to that person, mess up your communication, say things the wrong way, yeah, forget about it.
• SECRETS- Anything you do behind peoples back with ALWAYS come back to bite you homie! That’s the rule of life. Treat people like dirt in secret, act like a saint in front of others, one day you’ll forget who your infront of and BOOM, Busted!
Not every leader is required to have great character, think about it, Hitler, Stallon, Clinton, all had serious issues with Character but led the masses BUT if you want to be remembered for something good, worthy, respectable…GET YOUR CHARACTER STRAIGHT, so you won’t fail.
A shout out to JOHN MAXWELL and JULIUS CAMPBELL (we will also give a shout to Gerry Bertier for making a leadership turnaround). Good stuff Scott!
Great Post Scott! Big Fist Bump for this one! Another reason some leaders fail is an unwillingness to serve. They enjoy Being in charge and the benefits that come along with the position…but they lose sight of the people they are supposed to be leading. My mentor told me that a leader that doesn’t serve is merely a dictator.
Thanks Again for sharing this!
Nice little article that sums up very succinctly what a leader is.
Yes, a job title does not make a leader! Sadly people are more often promoting for their competency in the role they’re in, rather than their leadership skills, and leaders are often overlooked because they’re not that great at doing the job- their skills lie in leaders others who are!!
Once we see a shift in how people are promoted within organisations we’ll see a massive increase in productivity- because people will be in the roles that suit them best- leaders will lead & doers will do!
Great stuff, Scott! The skills that make someone successful as an individual contributor are far removed from those that make a great manager. I’m a coach by trade and I truly believe that all newly promoted managers should be coached through the first 90 days to help them avoid some of these very mistakes. Thanks for posting it!
A good leader also needs to show that he/she has flaws, also. Leaders who sugarcoat things are not always effective. A leader should have the capability to be transparent sometimes…not protray hisself/herself like everything is great all the time. We’re all human and we all have struggles. A good leader should be able to show that he/she struggles, too. Follwers will respect you more if you take the time to drop the charade.
Fake: A person who lacks sincerity and honesty. A person whose motives are flawed. Sincere is a Latin word meaning ‘without wax’, ancients often used wax to hide the flaws of statues. A sincere person doesn’t try to be what they are not.
Attitude: Reflects your belief system. You must believe in who you are first and also in what you are doing.
Integrity: Character. Character is who you are and what you believe. Growth in integrity can be achieved by admitting your flaws and making sacrifices to change. Integrity is often like talent, either you have it or you don’t. Those who don’t, often won’t make the effort to obtain it or develop it.
Lacking: Leadership is overrated today. Everyone wants to be a leader, but few want to serve. Those who simply want to lead have started off on the wrong foot and are already ‘lacking’. To avoid lacking, simply serve where you can with what abilities you have. Take a risk and try to develop the abilities you don’t have and leave the results and the titles up to God.
I’m with zeal