Leadership Trap #4 « Wayne Hastings

In my last few posts I’ve tried to identify some leadership traps or bad leadership attitudes. This post speaks into leaders who allow themselves, and their people, to stagnate.

Leaders who allow themselves to stagnate become apathetic or purposeless, and their attention is scattered. Stagnation also ushers in uncontrolled thoughts and can be a foundation for laziness.

Frustration, burnout, and self-will can often cause stagnation. Likewise, when we feel overlooked or feel that our work doesn’t quite measure up, we have a tendency to sit back and let someone else take over. Stagnation also develops from not being asked to contribute. When leaders take control of innovation, followers cans simply give up because their input is not wanted or appreciated.

Common traits that lead to stagnation are perfectionism or mistaking activity for achievement. Leaders who are perfectionistic or more focused on activity than achievement create a stagnate workforce. People give up trying to achieve anything meaningful because the perfectionistic leader never appreciates their achievements but rather picks apart everything they do. Or the activity-driven leader will see a coworker as lazy if he or she completes a project a half-day early and then uses the saved hours for some needed downtime.

Rather than allowing themselves to stagnate, leaders need to serve and teach boldly and provide vision, goals, and assistance to subordinates and team members.