Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters

by Barbara Kellerman

Book Overview

How is Saddam Hussein like Tony Blair? Or Kenneth Lay like Lou Gerstner? Answer: They are, or were, leaders. Many would argue that tyrants, corrupt CEOs, and other abusers of power and authority are not leaders at all--at least not as the word is currently used. But, according to Barbara Kellerman, this assumption is dangerously naive. A provocative departure from conventional thinking, Bad Leadership compels us to see leadership in its entirety...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591391660
• ISBN13: 9781591391661
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

The Dark Side

The book stands out because it forces you to take a look at the dark side of leadership. It is about leadership in and of itself. The book has an entirely unique perspective on leadership. She looks at all leaders and how they measure up as leaders. Even if society views them as a bad leader she takes that and builds on some of their strengths as a leader, their weaknesses and not necessarily their intent. The actual process of leading is the focus. She also looks at the followers and their role in leadership. This I think is also unique to leadership. It is important to analyze the followers and how they can affect the leader. In looking at the dark side of leadership we are able to become better leaders and/or followers.

DARK SIDE OF LEADERSHIP BUT SOME LIGHT AT END OF THE TUNNEL

We get to review a lot of books on leadership. After a while, they all seem to be echoing each other. But once in while one comes along that says something different and worthwhile learning. This is one of those books! Leadership is not all 'goodness and light.' It has it's dark side, with a big range of gray-zone inbetween. Finally, here is a book that explores the dark side. It's not the only one to ever do so, but it sure is one of a rare species. The author identifies seven dark-side types. Very briefly, these are: 1. Incompetent: lacks the will or skill (or both) to sustain effective action with regard to at least one important leadership challenge; 2. Rigid: stiff and unyielding-unable or unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information, or changing times; 3. Intemperate: lacks self-control; 4. Callous: uncaring or unkind-ignores or discounts the needs, wants, and wishes of others, especially subordinates; 5. Corrupt: lies, cheats, or steals-puts self-interest ahead of the public interest; 6. Insular: minimizes or disregards the health and welfare of "the other"-that is, those outside the group or organization for which they are directly responsible; and 7. Evil: commits atrocities. The Kellerman explores each of these types in considerable depth. The author places bad leadership along two axes, ineffective and unethical, to clarify the word "bad." Kellerman argues that effective and unethical can be joined. A final chapter takes on the challenge of how bad leadership can be stopped, or at least slowed. Kellerman suggests: * 12 ways for leaders to strengthen their capacity to be both effective and ethical, and * 8 ways they can work optimally with followers. She also puts forth 11 ways that followers can fight the good fight against bad leaders and work with each other and their leaders. This chapter is definitly a feel-good wrap-up; it is the light at the end of a very dark tunnel...a brief chapter, but packing a to-the-point, up-beat punch. Great book!

Sobering Account of Ways Leadership Goes Awry

I bought this book after hearing Kellerman give a lecture recorded on NPR. Her speech, based on her book Bad Leadership, was precise and purposeful. Not surprisingly, the book contains her precise language and her purpose, which is to show us how leadership, even when in the hands of well-intentioned people, can go wrong. She first argues that too many of us, inundanted with optimistic, often business-oriented books about leadership, assume, erroneously, that leadership is somehow synonymous with goodness and virtue. To the contrary, Kellerman argues, leadership goes wrong more often than not. In what appears to be a reverse pyramid from benign to malignant, Kellerman catalogs the seven deadly sins of leadership: 1. incompetence 2. rigidity 3. intemperance 4. callousness 5. corruption 6. insularity 7. evil. She gives historical (Hitler) accounts and more contemporary (Rudolph Giuliani, Howell Raines) to illustrate her definitions of bad leadership. She concludes by prescribing corrective measures. Her book is invaluable in that for us to fully grasp good leadership we must first comprehend its antithesis. A negative definition of leadership in all of its facets is a necessary nudge in the right direction.

Unusual and excellent

This is a valuable addition to the leadership literature in an area not frequently addressed. Kellerman begins by asserting, in opposition to some authors on the subject, that leadership can be values-neutral. That is, leadership may be used to serve bad causes as well as good while still remaining "leadership." She also suggests, less controversially, that some individuals in leadership positions do not do it well. She develops these ideas of unethical and inept leadership with very specific and (primarily) recent examples from government, business and nonprofit organizations. By structuring her observations into seven categories she constructs a typology of leadership failure that is, so far as I am aware, unique. Her insights can not only help us to recognize bad leadership when we encounter it as followers, they can help us deal with it more effectively. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the study and practice of leadership.

A View From the Dark Side

We live in a time where the news is filled with countries, corporations, and other organizations that are failing to perform as they should. Ms. Kellerman has analyzed several of these and identified fundamental seven types of leadership that are prone to failure. INCOMPETENT: The leader and at least some followers lack the will or skill to sustain effective action. RIGID: The leader and at least some of his followers are stiff, unyielding, and unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information or changing times. Intemperate: The leader lacks self-control and is aided and abetted by followers who do not intervene. CaALLOUS: The leader is uncaring or unkind, he ignores or discounts the needs of the rest of the organization. CORRUPT: These people lie, cheat, or steal. They put self interest above all else. INSULAR: They disregard or at least minimize the health and welfare of those outside the small center group. EVIL: Some leaders and at least some followers commit atrocities. In each of these catagories, she identifies leaders that illustrate her point. This leads to an understanding of why such bad leadership is harmful to the organization, and if the organization is the political leadership of a country, it is bad for the world.