Solving Problems/Improving Leadership

The Negative Effects of Bad Leadership

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, part of my internship at Guidepoint contains a group project presented at the end of the summer to the CEO, other c-suite executives, and all of the intern’s mentors. As if the mere presentation committee isn’t intimidating enough, the fact we only have 5 weeks to solve the most challenging questions/issues Guidepoint faces currently does not alleviate any stress. My group of 5 has been tasked with the project of how to expand Guidepoint and its services to law firms, specifically creating a legal solutions branch which can effectively market Guidepoint as a useful service for lawyers and law firms alike. As a result, our team was assigned two Vice Presidents in the company, serving as mentors and resources for us to make sure we are on target. This week, our team had organized a check-in with our two mentors after a handful of meetings our team has had by ourselves. While we had a few initial ideas, we still lacked a clear direction on how we could differentiate ourselves and our services to potential clients. To our surprise, despite an accepted calendar invite from all 7 of us, one of our two Vice President mentors completely bailed on us and our meeting.

The operational issue and blatant ineffectiveness by this specific individual (who I will not name specifically) was a clear abuse of his leadership power over us interns. His formal position as Vice President unrightfully warranted him the ability to completely miss our team meeting without even a notice. While I can give him the benefit of the doubt- perhaps a pressing issue came up in his team or an emergency suddenly arose- I still think the way he handled the situation was a clear abuse of his leadership position, specifically on interns. I do not think the same individual would have just blown off a meeting he told people he was attending if it was with his team members, bosses, or anybody above him in seniority. As a result, his lack of presence set our already frantic group into more hysteria and anxiety. His actions negatively affected us directly, as our productivity and emotional state got even worse.

What I took away from the disappointing experience was two major insights- first, how an individual in a leadership position may not even know simple actions like not showing up can create so much disarray and lack of production in followers. Secondly, and more importantly, how important it is for leaders to respect each and every one of their followers, no matter the title or seniority. While I cannot speak for the other interns in my group, I can say confidently that I do not look at this same individual the same way, nor with the same rank or leadership abilities he may have once had- all because of his poor handling of the situation. Not even a word after the meeting apologizing for his absence. Going back to Keegan and his Leadership Imperatives, by simply not exemplifying the Imperative of Example, this very Vice President leader lost all of his credibility in my eyes.

I think this big, and definitely not isolated issue, should be used as a learning example for all leaders at Guidepoint. If other leaders know how detrimental such a seamless act like not showing up to a meeting can be, they can effectively stop unproductive behavior and maintain their credibility as leaders for all, from interns to the most senior people. I understand we are interns, but I do not think our positions warrant such actions, especially from an established leader in the company. The example can serve as a blueprint for leaders- keeping followers, including the interns at the bottom, pleased and confident they can keep their word, is essential in the workplace. As we learned, power is in the hands of both leaders and followers, and such acts hurt leaders and their ability to motivate followers negatively.

One thought on “The Negative Effects of Bad Leadership

  • Wow, that’s pretty terrible. So no advance warning that the individual was not attending and then it sounds like no follow up from the individual either (explaining why they were not able to attend, apologizing, etc.). That’s pretty crummy. Did the the other VP who did attend say anything? Do you think that at some point there may be an opportunity for you to provide feedback about this to someone (your mentor/buddy, etc.)? Seems like it would be a worthwhile thing to share if there was a reasonable opportunity/way in which to do it. Would also be interested to learn – if you talk with your fellow interns about it – how they took it/interpreted it.

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