Eleven Ineffective Leadership Styles [Infographic]

Want to be a great leader?

Today’s infographic from Colonial Life, and it shows 11 ineffective leadership styles that can have negative impacts on your business’s productivity or culture.

However, good leaders know that they are not perfect, so check out the infographic and avoid these 11 leadership styles:

1. Micro Managing

Helping employees is one thing, but it’s also important to know when to take a step back. 

Over-management leads to an unempowered team.

2. Anything Goes

The opposite of micro management is also problematic as well.

By letting everything fly, there is no order and it can lead to missing deadlines or low expectations.

3. Autocratic

In many situations, having just one person making the decisions can lead to employees carrying out projects that they disagree with or do not think will work.

4. The Charge-Ahead General 

Charging ahead on every new project usually comes with a key weakness: a lack of patience.

If managers continually get impatient with employees, it affect trust and respect within the organisation.

5. Complete Self-Reliance 

If a manager can’t trust others, then the work will pile up for that manager until it becomes unbearable.

Meanwhile, employees have a tough time becoming independent in their roles.

6. Dictatorial 

If decisions cannot be questioned, it leads to employees feeling like they are incapable or that they have no input.

7. Excessive Consistency 

A manager with this leadership style has inflexible boundaries, and tends to be over-strict with employees.

This can create resentment and lower motivation.

8. Mushroom Management

Severe lack of communications between management and employees leads to misunderstandings, confusion, and limited responsibility.

9. The Morale Buster

Criticism is important, but too much of it can hurt employee morale.

10. The Screamer

Too much expression of authority, or expressing it in unprofessional ways, can lead to a lack of respect between employees and management.

There are other ways to articulate authority and constructive criticisms.

11. Seagull Management

Managers only interact with employees when there is a problem – this means employees never get praise or encouragement when it is needed.

This infographic was created by Colonial Life. Colonial Life provides voluntary employee benefits that help protect America’s workers.