The online Master of Arts (M.A.) in Organizational Leadership program from Florida Institute of Technology prepares professionals to excel in leadership roles. Program coursework helps leaders develop and refine their leadership styles, attributes and skills.
Yet, good leadership is complex and comprises more than acquired skills and style. One essential component of becoming a great leader is understanding what ineffective leadership is, the negative impact it can have on teams and organizational performance, and how to avoid it.
What Are the Impacts of Ineffective Leadership?
Companies lacking effective leadership may experience high employee turnover, fall short of company goals and earn a rocky organizational reputation. Poor leadership can lessen employee morale and engagement, negatively impacting employee performance, collaboration and innovation.
According to Gallup’s estimates, employee engagement hit a 10-year low in 2024. These low levels of employee engagement can cost companies millions of dollars, resulting in trillions of lost revenue globally. Ineffective leaders drive poor engagement, whereas Gallup notes that strong leadership can reverse declines in engagement.
Characteristics of Ineffective Leaders
Understanding what causes leaders to be ineffective, or just bad bosses, is key to preventing failed leadership. Just as there are many essential elements that make up successful leadership, numerous traits and behaviors can result in ineffective leadership, often leading to widespread negative impacts for employees and organizations.
At its root, poor leadership can be structural, organizational and interpersonal. Ineffective leaders may be rigid and resistant to change. They may have unreasonable expectations or fail to provide clear goals and guidance on how to meet those goals.
Effective leadership relies on forming strong relationships and teams, engendering the open communication needed to collaborate and achieve shared purpose. Conversely, ineffective leaders may lack the interpersonal skills and empathy to build trust and high-functioning teams. At the same time, a leader who focuses solely on interactions and team cohesion may fail to meet necessary business objectives.
How do these characteristics cause leaders to be ineffective? The traits listed below may provide a glimpse of where leadership crumbles and employees suffer.
Rigidity and Resistance to Change
During times of organizational transformation, great leaders can reinvent their leadership style, pivot according to the needs of the situation and inspire their team. Change can be necessary, and managing that change often requires flexibility and adaptability.
Leaders who embrace change learn new things, grow professionally, inspire innovation and guide successful transformation. Those who don’t like change may fear the unknown and resist transforming with an organization. This can affect their team or organizational culture in complex ways, creating tension and confusion around the change of direction. Not knowing where changes may lead can cause people to push back, halt progress and stall transformation.
Poor Communication and Listening
Communication is a pillar of good leadership. Leaders who communicate ineffectively can cause confusion and a lack of control, trust and transparency. Leaders need strong communication skills to help employees clearly understand the organizational vision, expectations and goals, as well as how they can achieve those goals successfully.
Leaders who do not listen to their team may isolate themselves. Great leaders are active listeners who can communicate with followers, colleagues and managers within all parts of an organization. Listening to another person and being present in the conversation demonstrates an understanding of — and respect for — the other’s point of view. Active listening also encourages employees to be creative and share their ideas, driving collaboration and innovation.
A Self-centered Mindset
Self-centered leaders tend to prioritize personal gain and react poorly to scrutiny, questions or constructive criticism. Such leaders may claim credit for others’ work and successes while placing blame when something goes wrong.
As a result, self-centered leadership can actively disengage employees, breeding a lack trust and a culture of unappreciation. On the other hand, successful leaders own their mistakes, know how to say they’re sorry and take responsibility for team failures, while actively eliciting feedback and celebrating others’ successes.
Passive Leadership
Being communicative and responsive to employee needs does not mean being passive in terms of leadership and action. Passive or laissez-faire leaders may be reluctant to respond to challenging situations or conflict until absolutely necessary, leading to unresolved conflicts that can escalate quickly.
This passive approach can allow negative emotions, thoughts and actions to spread, harming team morale and performance. Effective leaders actively address situations as they arise and create a conducive environment for positive conflict resolution. A team that knows their leader will help them navigate challenges can think critically and take risks. Plus, taking an active role in addressing issues will model that behavior for employees, equipping them to better handle future situations.
Lack of Vision
Lack of vision or tunnel vision can result in unfocused, unmotivated and unaligned teams. Great leaders need vision to inspire their teams, foster creativity and promote shared purpose.
Today’s leaders must navigate challenging, unpredictable circumstances. This requires agility, adaptability and innovation, on the part of the leader and the followers. Innovation and agility are not possible without shared vision and the motivation to achieve that vision in creative ways.
An Imbalance of Charisma
Charisma can be critical to inspiring teams, engendering visionary thinking and creating shared purpose. However, leaders that rely too much on charisma can set their followers up for failure.
The drawbacks of overly charismatic leadership can include the way followers may set aside their own critical thought or ethical consideration in favor of following the leader without question. This can result in groupthink, unethical behavior, a lack of open dialogue, and lessened creativity or innovation outside of the leader’s directive. Employee performance may also suffer if they grow to rely solely on the leader for motivation. Plus, if necessary, replacing the leader can disrupt the team dynamic considerably.
Changing Moral Positions
Being open to change and development is crucial for leaders who want to model and inspire a growth mindset. Along with pragmatic change, evolving moral stances can be a part of this.
However, employees may perceive leaders as hypocritical if what a leader does contradicts a prior moral position. A leader whose morals and behaviors regularly shift to suit the situation will likely be seen as hypocritical, inauthentic and even untrustworthy.
Become an Effective Leader With Skills and Knowledge
Being an effective leader is not an innate quality, and becoming a good leader is not a simple process. Programs like Florida Tech’s M.A. in organizational leadership provide students with the tools and knowledge of leadership theory to lead teams and organizations successfully, though learning how to apply theory to practice can take time.
Developing an awareness of what constitutes ineffective leadership is critical to recognizing when leadership practices succeed or fall short. At its best, leadership is situationally appropriate, balancing charisma and flexibility with clarity and vision, and avoiding the pitfalls that can hold a great team back.
Learn more about the online M.A. in organizational leadership program from Florida Tech.
