We have all witnessed or worked with people unfit to lead. Here are 12 criteria to evaluate your ability to lead people

1. TO LEAD?
Are You Fit
12 Signs You‘re Not Up For The Challenge.

2. We have all seen or worked with people
unfit to lead.
Many times these folks are well intentioned -ambitious people who do their level best;
unfortunately for the rest of us, they can leave a trail of chaos and dysfunction – the
products of poor leadership and unintended consequences.
Before you seek a leadership role, consider what is motivating you. Management- like
leadership - is difficult and complex. Your motives need to be aligned with strong leadership
principals. Seeking leadership based solely hubris or a desire for social advancement and
monetary gain is self - deceptive or self-deception: regardless of the size and scope of your
organization , this mistake can have far reaching and significant effects. Here is a test for
aspiring leaders: if these points describe you you’re not a leader!

3. Sign 1
YOU ARE RISK AVERSE

4. Someone told me our ability to succeed is congruent to our ability to fail. To be
sure, there are great successes and great failures.
As Theodore Roosevelt stated in 1910 –“ ….his place shall never be with those cold
and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat” More often than not, we
overestimate the probability of something going wrong. Similarly, we exaggerate
the consequences of what might happen if and when it does happen. In too many
workplaces, our greatest challenge is that we deny or discount the cost of inaction
and continue on with the status quo. This leads to an organization feeling
restricted and people feeling stuck in unsatisfying careers.
The great American poet Henry David Thoreau described this condition best when
he wrote “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the
song still in them.” Poor leaders look at risk mitigation first – but we know
perfection is the enemy of good. Follow Cardinal Newman’s advice regarding
perfect plans: "A man would do nothing, if he waited until he could do it so well
that no one would find fault with what he has done."

5. Sign 2
YOU DON’T EMPATHIZE
WITH OTHERS

6. Empathy is the ability to identify and understand another
person’s feelings or situation. Leaders need to understand the
needs of the people following them in order to be effective.
Empathy is not the same as sympathy. Empathy is the ability
to appreciate someone else’s perspective.
This is a critical trait because when you truly understand the
needs of your staff, you can provide the support they need to
succeed – ultimately leading to greater productivity ,
collaboration and success.

7. Sign 3
YOU DON’T GET RESULTS

8. Real leaders perform – they meet their
objectives – they consistently exceed
expectations.
Sub optimal results equal no leadership –
it’s just that simple.

9. Sign 4
YOU GET RESULTS
THE WRONG WAY

10. If the only way you can solve the
challenge is through unethical behavior,
Machiavelli was talking about you in his
political satire The Prince when describing
the cynicism of the autocrat or one –
man- rule leading them to believe “the
ends justify the means”. If you abuse your
position of authority, fail to treat people
with respect, or confuse manipulation with
leadership, you will win nothing more than
a Pyrrhic victory.
Optics over ethics is illusory and short
term – malleable fools and sycophants will
be your only fans in the long run.

11. Sign 5
YOU DON’T CARE

12. Indifference is a characteristic not well
suited to leadership. You simply cannot be
a leader if you don’t care about those you
lead and the vision your following.
The real test of any leader is whether or
not those you lead are better off for being
led by you.

13. Sign 6
YOU’RE SEDUCED BY A TITLE OR POSITION
AND NOT A HIGHER PURPOSE

14. If you value self-interest above service you have
misunderstood the concept of leadership. A look into the
etymology of the word “leadership” proves instructive; the
term originates in the ancient root “Leith” which means to go
forth and die – usually in battle.
Leadership is about caring about something beyond oneself,
and leading others to a better place – even if it means
subordinating your self-interest in the process.
Power often comes as a derivative of leadership, but it’s not
the source or summit of true leadership.

15. Sign 7
IT’S EASIER TO MAKE PROMISES
THAN KEEP THEM

16. Leadership isn’t about a narrative; it’s about
one’s actions. Leadership might begin with
articulating a vision or objective; however, the
leader must lead out of one suboptimal state
to a more perfect state. To some degree this
can be measured in terms of freedom. In
other words, the true leader must make
people to one extent or another more free.

17. Sign 8
YOU MARGINALIZE PEOPLE

18. Don’t think for a minute explaining why
subordinates can’t do one thing or another is
leading. Leader’s demonstrate how things can be
done. Leaders teach people how to reach places
they previously believed were beyond themselves.
As Robert Browning observed, “a
man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a
heaven for?”

19. Sign 9
YOU ARE A RULE FOLLOWER INSTEAD
OF A BREAKER OF MOLDS

20. Status quo is the great enemy of leadership.
Leadership is nothing if not understanding the need
for change, and then possessing the ability to deliver
on it.

21. Sign 10
YOU CHURN TALENT INSTEAD
OF RETAIN IT

22. Real leadership serves as a talent magnet and career
accelerator – not a talent repellent or career mitigator. If you
can’t acquire talent, can’t develop talent, or can’t retain talent
you are not a leader.
Will your direct reports be going on to bigger and better
things under your mentorship? Or will you be managing down
and keeping people under your hyper- critical eye?

23. Sign 11
YOU TAKE CREDIT INSTEAD
OF GIVING IT

24. Leaders don’t seek all the attention. The
great leaders lift others up-help them shine
and that is their victory.
“There are 2 types of people: those who lift
you up and those who pull you down.”
~ Lou Holtz

25. Sign 12
YOU ARE AN AUTOCRAT

26. Autocrats, like all misguided utopians, think
they know better than everyone else in the
room. If you’re the head of cardiac surgery at
University Health Network or a physicist at
McGill University, maybe you always are the
smartest person in the room. But most of us
are closer to the mean. Ask questions, be
collaborative and be humble.

27. "Only those who risk going too far can
possibly find out how far they can go."
~ T. S. Elliot

28. NEED TRAINING?
St. Lawrence College Corporate
Learning & Performance Improvement
works with over 350 organizations and
thousands of students focused on
programs and skills that address the
demands of the new economy
To book a spot in our Leadership
programs visit us at our website:
www.slccorporatelearning.ca