Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWS
  • Your Career
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • ENTREPRENEUR
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • TRANSITION
  • Health
    Guardsmen share personal perspective on vaccine distribution

    Guardsmen share personal perspective on vaccine distribution

    How to turn fitness resolutions into reality

    How to turn fitness resolutions into reality

    Arkansas spouse helps veterans fight addiction

    Arkansas spouse helps veterans fight addiction

    Sailor credits mindset, support with helping her fight cancer

    Sailor credits mindset, support with helping her fight cancer

  • Money
    Quick guide: 2020 tax filing resources for the military

    Quick guide: 2020 tax filing resources for the military

    This Army veteran has a new approach to wealth management

    This Army veteran has a new approach to wealth management

    Army Emergency Relief looks to convert $1 million into grants for soldiers

    Army Emergency Relief looks to convert $1 million into grants for soldiers

    Pandemic affects home buying process for military families

    Pandemic affects home buying process for military families

  • Travel
    Universal Orlando offers first-ever Military Freedom Pass

    Universal Orlando offers first-ever Military Freedom Pass

    Gronski reflects on ride of his life

    Gronski reflects on ride of his life

    Take leave. Use these exclusive military discounts. Repeat.

    Take leave. Use these exclusive military discounts. Repeat.

    Moving Benefits for Service Members

    Moving Benefits for Service Members

  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
  • RESOURCES
    • EDUCATION GUIDE
  • About us
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • CONTACT
No Result
View All Result
Reserve & National Guard
  • NEWS
  • Your Career
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • ENTREPRENEUR
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • TRANSITION
  • Health
    Guardsmen share personal perspective on vaccine distribution

    Guardsmen share personal perspective on vaccine distribution

    How to turn fitness resolutions into reality

    How to turn fitness resolutions into reality

    Arkansas spouse helps veterans fight addiction

    Arkansas spouse helps veterans fight addiction

    Sailor credits mindset, support with helping her fight cancer

    Sailor credits mindset, support with helping her fight cancer

  • Money
    Quick guide: 2020 tax filing resources for the military

    Quick guide: 2020 tax filing resources for the military

    This Army veteran has a new approach to wealth management

    This Army veteran has a new approach to wealth management

    Army Emergency Relief looks to convert $1 million into grants for soldiers

    Army Emergency Relief looks to convert $1 million into grants for soldiers

    Pandemic affects home buying process for military families

    Pandemic affects home buying process for military families

  • Travel
    Universal Orlando offers first-ever Military Freedom Pass

    Universal Orlando offers first-ever Military Freedom Pass

    Gronski reflects on ride of his life

    Gronski reflects on ride of his life

    Take leave. Use these exclusive military discounts. Repeat.

    Take leave. Use these exclusive military discounts. Repeat.

    Moving Benefits for Service Members

    Moving Benefits for Service Members

  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
  • RESOURCES
    • EDUCATION GUIDE
  • About us
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • CONTACT
No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE FREE
Reserve & National Guard
No Result
View All Result

6 hard earned lessons from really bad bosses

Do not waste the leadership lessons of a bad boss. 

Chad Storlie
by Chad Storlie
December 15, 2020
6 hard earned lessons from really bad bosses

We have all had bad bosses — some of us really, really bad bosses. Mistakenly, when a bad boss departs, most of us feel relieved and then get back to work. The mistake is that we waste the leadership education that a bad boss brings. The collective experience of a bad boss is filled with fantastic leadership lessons because it: (1) teaches us what not to do and (2) equally teaches us the importance of a solid leader to deliver a great working environment for a team.

Becoming a better leader is both a study of what to do and what not to do. Do not waste the leadership lessons of a bad boss. 

Bad bosses never set out to become bad bosses. A boss evolves into a bad boss because they fail to observe, learn, and try to be a good boss. A bad boss is marked by information hoarding, not sharing credit, inconsistent actions, favoritism, lack of confidence, public shaming of team members, lying, over confidence, and an over display of emotions.

As we become better leaders, we need to have a constant and consistent focus on leadership learning as well as leadership humility. Leadership learning must be within a mindset of humility because even a great leader can be or become a bad leader. A constant focus on leadership learning and leadership humility ensures vital lessons get through and get through consistently.

Good leadership is about consistent, open, and in-depth communication that is equal parts speaking and listening to all employee levels.

Poor communication is one of the hallmarks of a bad leader. Bad leaders do not share executive guidance, hide results, and do not freely share stories, feedback, and customer insight that make a team’s job easier.  Importantly, a leader that communicates well spends most of the time listening, learning, asking questions and then speaking their opinion. Vitally important, a great leader listen and speaks to all levels within an organization. A great leader encourages their own and others learning. Speaking without listening, not sharing information, not allowing others to speak openly, and not sharing key insights are a sign of a bad leader.

Good leadership is about open standards applied equally with frequent written coaching that is specific, actionable, and appreciated.

One of the reasons the military produces strong leaders is the use of open standards for the successful performance of a task. In the Army, if I am a 30-day private or a 30-year general, there is one way to load, fire, and qualify safely on my assigned weapon.

The use of open, written, and coached standards of performance for everyone regardless of their level in an organization is a hallmark of a good leadership structure. Leaders that have different standards, inconsistent standards, unspoken standards, or no standards are signs of bad leaders. People and teams perform better when they know the standards, see that the standards are equally applied to all, and specifically know, in writing, what they need to do to be better.

Good leadership is about enabling your team to do their jobs better.

Bad bosses think of themselves as “tellers,” as in “do this” or “do that.” Good bosses think of themselves as enablers as in, “what does your team need to do next?” or, “what resources do you need to accomplish this?” Leaders that enable their teams encourage initiative, strategic direction, customer focus, and strong execution. Bad leaders that dictate, over detail, and micro-manage encourage their teams to be passive, disregard poor consequences, and deemphasize their own initiative. Good leaders enable others to find a path to success are creating a future generation of leaders.

Good leadership recognizes people are an organization’s best resource.

Easily one of the best “tells” of a good leader versus a bad leader is how well they treat others both in public and in private. Good leaders see people as sources of innovation, strategy, ideas, customer focus, and improvement. Bad leaders see people as “necessary” cost centers so “mildly important” job tasks can be accomplished. Treating others well means leading team members to higher performance and setting ambitious goals for the organization.  Good leaders realize that treating others well and with respect enables people to create the future and ongoing success of an organization.

Good leadership is a consistent and inclusive leadership style.

A classic bad leader “tell” is the leader that has one style for the office, one style for on the road, one style in front of their boss, another style when they are stressed, and another style for in front of customers. Good leaders are consistent in their leadership style, how they behave in a crisis, how they behave in front of their team, and in front of their boss. The leader that displays the least variation in all situations is a leader that truly embraces example setting because there are being true to their original self. Bad leaders create inconsistency in their leadership styles to “hide” their true self which leaves everyone guessing which “self” of the boss the team will encounter today. To be a great leader, you must be the same leader every day regardless of the stress, environment, and situations occurring around you.

Good leadership publicly embraces mistakes to deliver future solutions.

When I was a second lieutenant (the well-deserved “Butter Bar”) in Korea, I was a mortar platoon leader learning to fire the 4.2” mortar. As I was about to fire, one of my squad leaders noticed that one of my elevation bubbles on my mortar sight was off, and I needed to correct it before firing. Later, at our platoon after action review (AAR) — where we reviewed mistakes and sought corrections — the squad leader and I simultaneously brought up my mistake. This was good for two reasons. First, the squad leader knew he could mention the mistake of a leader in front of the team with no repercussions. Second, I was confident enough that I could admit making a mistake in front of my entire platoon and maintain their respect.

Organizations that are learning, innovating, and pushing boundaries will make mistakes at all levels. The key is embracing the open discussion of mistakes, how to prevent them, and how to take the organization to the next level. The next time you encounter a bad leader, use it as a time to understand how the example of bad leadership can help you become a better leader.

Chad Storlie is a retired US Army Special Forces officer, an Iraq combat veteran, and has 15 years university teaching experience as an adjunct Professor of Marketing. He is a mid-level B2B marketing executive and a widely published author on leadership, logistics, marketing, business, analytics, decision making, military and technology topics.

Read comments
Tags: ArmyLeadershipmanagementmiitary
Chad Storlie

Chad Storlie

Chad Storlie is a retired US Army Special Forces officer, an Iraq combat veteran, and has 15 years university teaching experience as an adjunct Professor of Marketing. He is a mid-level B2B marketing executive and a widely published author on leadership, logistics, marketing, business, data, decision making, military and technology topics.

Related Posts

Iraqi citizen finds her American dream in the Army

by AmeriForce Exclusive
Feb-26-2021
0
Iraqi citizen finds her American dream in the Army

Hala Kadim’s situation could describe many reservists, but the story of how she got here is unique because it begins in Baghdad.

Read more

Marine Corps Reserve opened ‘a million doors’ for Walmart executive

by Jessica Manfre
Feb-24-2021
0
Marine Corps Reserve opened ‘a million doors’ for Walmart executive

Marine Corps Reserve Lt. Col. Ryan Bolling learned early on from his father's service that the military opens doors to...

Read more

Military training aids entrepreneurs in business success

by Stephen Ruiz
Feb-17-2021
0
Military training aids entrepreneurs in business success

Small business owners credit military experience with success in private sector.

Read more

Soldier caught in uniform doing the most noble thing

by Jessica Manfre
Jan-28-2021
0
Soldier caught in uniform doing the most noble thing

A D.C. National Guard soldier went viral after being seen on camera teaching elementary students while on duty.

Read more

Airman shares experience of being in DC for historic activation

by Crystal Kupper
Jan-20-2021
0
Airman shares experience of being in DC for historic activation

Airman 1st Class Courtney Mitchell's first activation led her to be part of a historic undertaking of using more than...

Read more

Chief of Army Reserve seeks to create rewarding experience for soldiers

by Bianca Strzalkowski
Jan-11-2021
0
Chief of Army Reserve seeks to create rewarding experience for soldiers

The head of the Army Reserve is crashing virtual battle assemblies to get face time with soldiers.

Read more

Ads

Connect with other Reserve Members

Military News, delivered to your inbox

Get weekly news updates, unsubscribe anytime.

Reserve & National Guard

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact us
  • Advertising
  • Digital Magazines
© 2021 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Site by SCBW

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
  • Your Career
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • ENTREPRENEUR
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • TRANSITION
  • Health
  • Money
  • Travel
  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
  • RESOURCES
    • EDUCATION GUIDE
  • About us
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • CONTACT

© 2021 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Site by SCBW