Leadership has a dark side.

In the heart, mind, and soul of every leader is a struggle. A struggle between who the leader wants to be and between who their followers need them to be. Most contemporary leadership books, articles, and expositions focus on the positive or bright side of leadership. However, because leadership is composed only of leaders and followers, humans, there is a negative and dark side.

Leaders must lead themselves effectively in order to lead others productively. Leaders that fail in this regard will fade, falter, and fail in the task of directing others. A position does not make a leader. Power does not make a leader. What makes a leader is sustainable character and indefatigable integrity.

“The greater a man is in power above others, the more he ought to excel them in virtue.
None ought to govern who is not better than the governed.”
— Publius Syrus

All leadership is not good leadership. Simply  because a leader holds a position, a title, and authority doesn’t mean that leader is benefiting the organization and its followers. There are traits existent in humans that when exposed in the life of a leader have very adverse effects on those they lead and their organizations.

De Vries (2018) called three of these traits TNT or Three Nightmare Traits. These three traits are leader dishonesty (low honesty-humility), leader disagreeableness (low agreeableness), and leader carelessness (low conscientiousness). Leaders who exhibit these traits inhibit their organizations. Leaders who exhibit these traits frequently will drive really good people away and end up with an organization of sycophants, suck-ups, and shysters.

Leader dishonesty is a trait absent of honesty and humility. This trait reveals the leader to be insincere, arrogant, greedy, manipulative, and immodest. Such a trait is a red flag that the leader could be making unethical decisions that affect the organization. Leader dishonesty is shown to lower the motivation of others who have to work with or for that leader. Dishonesty is a trait that induces, exacerbates, or invites an unethical culture. Once a leader opens the door by sacrificing personal integrity, all manner of unethical behavior can be expected from the rest of the organization.

Leader disagreeableness is the tendency of someone in an organization to be difficult to work with or for. They are often inflexible, aloof, distant, unforgiving, overly critical, and abrassive. They do not have to be loud to do this. In fact often, they sulk, pout, and listen to others poorly. They create environments of unproductivity where they are either ineffective at producing work or negatively impact the work of others. Disagreeable leaders are often driven by the need to control others and situations. This often leads to the frequency of conflicts and the intensity of conflicts. These types of leaders drive others away and are chemistry-killers. Leader disagreeableness leaders to division, decrease in retention, and lowering productivity.

Leader carelessness demonstrates a lack of conscientiousness. This means there is a bent towards carelessness, ignorance, negligence, and impulsiveness. This trait can create a culture of mediocrity and wishful thinking. Ideas and dreams are often espoused without genuine, detail-oriented work done behind the scenes. Because carelessness is a sign of ignorance, these leaders are often not as smart as they want to appear to others. Carelessness leads to poor decisions and drives away high performers. Often, this leadership trait is a sign of passivity or passive leadership. Passive leadership is strongly associated with poor organizational results. Carelessness can also be a sign of passive-aggressiveness.

The Three Nightmare Traits have opposite traits that truly help organizations: Honesty-humility, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Honesty-humility seeks to do what is ethical and beneficial to others above self at all times. This trait demands the truth and accepts nothing less. Agreeableness is one of the strongest traits to connect and bind teams of people together. It also enhances productivity. Conscientiousness is often found in leaders whose organizations are considered excellent and worthy of emulation.

The solution for leaders that struggle with these is to (a) tell the truth, (b) don’t be difficult to work with, and (c) pay attention to details. These are traits that draw followers in, increase trust, and stimulate growth.

The Bright Side of Leadership

A- Tell the Truth. With so much confusion, deception, and dishonesty in the environment today, it is critical that leaders seek the truth, find it, and articulate it. Truth is absolute and needs to be valued in the life of the leader and reflected in the actions and reactions of the organization. Honest leaders create a culture of integrity where figures, frustrations, and feelings are checked for accuracy before being espoused, fought for or manipulated. Truth is the great equalizer. When organizations inner workings get out of balance, it is most often because truth is viewed as expendable, inconvenient or burdensome. Leaders must be truthful and demand the truth from their followers, especially when it is unpopular or concerning.

B- Don’t be Difficult. Leaders who are disagreeable are difficult to work with and work for. Agreeableness is a positive trait that reduces the degree of difficulty in relationships and how decisions are made. Being agreeable means you don’t have to be right to get it right. It also doesn’t mean you are a passive, weak-willed leader who becomes passive-aggressive towards those you are leading. Agreeableness is born out of humility. A leader who is going to work to be amenable, agreeable, and compatible, must humble themselves to others so that teamwork is not hinder, made more challenging, and stress increased.

C- Pay Attention to the Details. Being a careful leaders does not mean you lack ambition or desire. A careful leaders sees danger, the details, and is good at discovering what really exists. Paying attention to the details is one way that you can discern if a leader is conscientious or not. A leader who frequently neglects, ignores, or passes over the details will change narratives, manipulate facts, and build decisions off of ideas not intelligence. Shortcuts are the fast route to destruction and unproductivity. Excellence is found in the details. Excellent leaders have an excellent grasp on the details that determine outcomes.

Conclusion

Leaders who want to grow others and grow their organizations need to be aware that there is a dark side lurking or active among those who lead. The three nightmare traits (TNT) will explode, implode or retard results and the development of others in the organization if left unchecked. The process in which leaders deal with their dark side will direct the decisions and development of the organization.

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