Good company culture? I have had my share. In fact, in over 40 years of business management and leadership experience, I’ve seen more great company cultures than bad ones. And lots of experience studying leadership traits scattered all over the map.

The two most powerful things in existence: a kind word and thoughtful gesture.

Ken Langone

It’s important to realize that just because someone holds a position of leadership, doesn’t necessarily mean they should. Put another way; not all leaders are created equal. The problem many organizations are suffering from is a recognition problem – they can’t seem to recognize the impact leadership has on the culture of the business.

Related: 7 Surprising Things to Know About the Zillow Business Model

In today’s article, I’ll address how key mistakes can destroy company culture by pointing out leadership traits that represent culture killers.

Company culture ideas

Here are my top eleven of those culture killers drawn from my years of experience:

Pompous and arrogant

Perhaps the worst trait I’ve personally observed that quickly devours culture is ego. We all have an ego, but the ego I’m talking about is the ‘super-ego’ that dominates. I’ve found if a leader is really good at what they do, they won’t have to tell others about it.

Hiding or misrepresenting business strategy and results

If a leader doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self” they will not engender the trust, confidence, and loyalty of those they lead. Any leader is only as good as his or her team’s desire to be led by them. Real leaders take the blame and give the credit – not the other way around.

Company culture … lacks empathy

Tim Brown, CEO and President of IDEO, the global innovation, and design firm, describes empathy as making an effort to “see the world through the eyes of others, understand the world through their experiences, and feel the world through their emotions.”

Bad leaders don’t have this ability because they don’t care. Extraordinarily bad leaders address problems in the open public. They don’t coach; they make things personal and like to pass on the blame to specific employees and teams. The worst culture killer in my book.

Company culture … leaders who can’t see it

Da Vinci once said: There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when shown, and those that do not see.

For those leaders in the second and especially third groups, easily lose the confidence of those they are trying to lead. Their lack of vision cannot inspire teams, motivate performance, or create sustainable value.

A leader’s job is to align the organization and its culture around a clear and achievable vision. This cannot occur when the blind lead the blind.

Intimidator

Occasionally you will find a leader who believes in the stick much more than the carrot. This leadership style intimidates and bullies employees, often threatening them if work is not completed satisfactorily.

Employees of a poor leader might be publicly berated for mistakes and subject to criticism of their personality traits. Working in such an environment decreases staff morale, increases turnover, and causes stress. And it destroys a culture very rapidly.

Poor people skills

Bad leaders are often negative people who have no idea how to motivate others. They share their negative opinions about the company or a department-wide project, rather than emphasizing the positive aspects of a situation.

Unable to consider anyone’s viewpoint but their own, poor leaders don’t respond well to complaints or suggestions. And they love to put their own ‘spin’ on issues.

Little use of praise

People need specific positive feedback on their job performance frequently (every week or so). Without it, their fire goes out quickly and their positive impact on culture. A culture thrives under managers who know employees perform better when they receive praise.

Not communicating business strategy

Is your business strategy clearly articulated, written out, and shared with everyone in the company? If you can’t trust employees with it, then you clearly have the wrong employees.

Non-listener

A bad leader often seems to listen but never hears. They rarely are willing to work to understand the needs and desires of others. Culture doesn’t long survive with these practices.

No humility

Bad leaders are energized by being right. They rarely acknowledge the effort or success of the team. When they do, it is usually cover in a big ‘spin.’ They very rarely admit to their weaknesses or mistakes they have made and are never humble. They are people that most employees avoid at all costs. Not conducive to a good culture is it?

Related post: 10 Lessons for Successful Entrepreneurs You Need to Know

Limited delegation

The worse leaders never accept that employees are individuals who thrive best when allowed to choose their approach to risk and happiness. They don’t ever allow them imperfection and failure without chastisement.

Key takeaways

From my experience, great leaders rarely if ever exhibit any of these ‘deep dark’ negative traits. Good leaders occasionally will exhibit one of these negative traits, but not in a significant way.

The very worst of the bad leaders exhibit many of these traits. I have only seen one very senior leader exhibit a majority of these bad traits (in fact all of them at times).

The moral of this story is company culture has a great influence on leadership development. If these traits are possessed by your current leadership team or your emerging leaders, you will be in for a rocky road ahead.

Which of these bad traits stand out to you? Do you have any other signs of ineffective leaders worthy of mention? Leave a comment and share your insights with others…

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Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he writes about topics that relate to improving the performance of business. Go to Amazon to obtain a copy of his latest book, Exploring New Age Marketing. It focuses on using the best examples to teach new age marketing … lots to learn. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.

Check out these additional articles on business lessons from our library:

Retail Design …11 Ways Businesses Are Responding to the Future

Competitive Strategy … the Story of In-N-Out Burger

Business Leaders … 7 Lessons Jack Welch Taught Me about Them

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If you contemplate handing in your two weeks’ notice every time you talk to your boss, you’re not alone. Terrible bosses? I have had my share. Know the facts of terrible bosses so you can get out before it’s too late.

In the classic TV show Dragnet, Sergeant Joe Friday famously admonished witnesses to give him “just the facts.” Generations of business executives have adopted the same approach, demanding substantiation rather than conjecture.

The problem is that the world is a confusing place and there are plenty of facts to go around. A quick Google search is all that is required to find the facts to support any argument. Studies conflict with other studies, contexts shift and the game goes on.

A 2018 poll from job-search site Monster found as many as 76% of people say they currently have or recently had a toxic boss. Meanwhile, just 19% of respondents describe their boss as a mentor.

It’s important to know whether you’ve got a bad boss on your hands so you can “take measures to mitigate the stress and own greater power in the relationship” as soon as possible. Some ways you can try mending your relationship include looking for commonalities to bond over and proactively offering to help lighten their workload.

One of the most surprising things about boss motivation is that it often comes after starting a new behavior, not before. You’ve seen this haven’t you?

We have this common misconception that motivation arrives as a result of passively consuming a motivational video or reading an inspirational book. However, active inspiration can be a far more powerful motivator. Motivation is often the result of an action, not the cause of it.

Here are the top traits of terrible bosses drawn from my years of experience:

Pompous and arrogant

Perhaps the worst trait I’ve personally observed is ego. We all have an ego, but the ego I’m talking about is the ‘super-ego’ that dominates. I’ve found if a boss is really good at what they do, they won’t have to tell others about it.

It’s all about them, isn’t it? If a leader doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self” they will not engender the trust, confidence, and loyalty of those they lead.

Any boss is only as good as his or her team’s desire to be led by them. Real bosses take the blame and give the credit – not the other way around.

Lacks empathy

Tim Brown, the CEO and President of IDEO, the global innovation, and design firm, describes empathy as making an effort to “see the world through the eyes of others, understand the world through their experiences, and feel the world through their emotions.”

Bad bosses don’t have this ability because they don’t care. Extraordinarily bad leaders address problems in the open public. They don’t coach; they make things personal and like to pass on the blame to specific employees and teams.

The know-it-all

The worst bosses are acutely unaware of how much they don’t know. They most often have a big need to be the smartest person in the room and have no desire to learn from others. One of the hallmarks of great bosses is their insatiable curiosity.

Bad bosses, on the other hand, aren’t extremely curious about their organization, and this weakness creates huge problems for the future.

Poor people skills

Terrible bosses are often negative people who have no idea how to motivate others. They share their negative opinions about the company or a department-wide project, rather than emphasizing the positive aspects of a situation.

Unable to consider anyone’s viewpoint but their own, poor bosses don’t respond well to complaints or suggestions. And they love to put their own ‘spin’ on issues.

Non-listener

A bad boss often seems to listen but never hears. They rarely are willing to work to understand the needs and desires of others.

No humility

Bad bosses are energized by being right. They rarely acknowledge the effort or success of the team. When they do, it is usually covered in a big ‘spin.’

They very rarely admit to their weaknesses or mistakes they have made and are never humble.

Don’t tell the truth

A boss who lies is untrustworthy — not a good foundation for a productive relationship. Some can become so immune to their own stories that they can convince themselves that the lies are true.

They may legitimize their fibbing by rationalizing that others do it, deflect this character flaw by pointing the finger to others, or use mistruths to generally hide blunders.

Other bad bosses just can’t face the fallout that will result from telling the truth.

Never wrong

Learning to admit that you’re wrong is one of the best things you can do for your colleagues.

Ask Lexi Reese, the COO of Gusto and a former Googler, and she’ll tell you the best thing a boss can do is communicate to their reports the type of leader they aspire to be and then say, “But I also am human and I’ll probably f—k it up.”

Most importantly, the boss should encourage their reports to let them know when they’re falling short.

If your boss refuses to admit that they’re wrong, this means they’re not willing to go out of their comfort zone for you.

A national independent study by Lynn Taylor Consulting found that 91% of employees said that owning up to one’s mistakes as a manager was an important factor in employee job satisfaction.

Admitting to mistakes sends a message to your employees that it’s a safe environment to take smart risks — and without that, you’re sapping innovation.

Consistently overpromises

An overpromising boss is an untrustworthy boss. You might have been promised a series of promotions, increased responsibility, or a raise, but all you get is silence.

It’s often helpful to get to the truth through emails if one-on-one discussions are getting you nowhere. If the responses aren’t coming via email, or at all, be wary.

Rarely expresses gratitude

Does your boss put you down in front of others? If you let it go once, it’ll happen over and over again. Good bosses know they should have this conversation with their employees in private.

While it may sound counterintuitive to apologize to someone for something that clearly wasn’t your fault, amazing things happen when you can bring yourself to do so. An intimate bond is forged.

All you have to say is something akin to, ‘I blame myself for your outburst earlier today. Clearly, I’ve been relying on you too much. If you have any issues with me, I’d appreciate hearing about them in the privacy of my office.

A micromanager

Micromanagers can’t resist becoming involved in the smallest details of their employee’s jobs. While micromanaging ensures that everything is done the manager’s way, employees resent the lack of responsibility, autonomy, and lack of growth opportunities.

Is your boss so pushy and overbearing that you find yourself unable to accomplish anything efficiently? This may be a perpetual problem, so get ready for it early.

If they want a play-by-play of every meeting, email, and call, then take detailed notes of every business interaction and send them to your boss. Your boss will think that they’re on top of things and will leave you alone.

By over-communicating with a micromanager or needy boss, you’ll diffuse their desire to constantly check-in, while you build all-important trust at the same time.

Don’t want to hear your viewpoint

Stubborn bosses are as common as company water coolers. But there’s a fine line between appearing insubordinate and arguing your case. If there’s something in it for your boss, you have the best chance of changing behavior.

You must avoid the temptation to fight the same battles repeatedly. Change your argument to find a compromise, and document your case if you’re passionate about your perspective.

Just don’t win the battle and lose the war.

The bottom line

From my experience, great bosses rarely if ever exhibit any of these ‘deep dark’ negative traits. Good leaders occasionally will exhibit one of these negative traits, but not in a significant way. The very worst of the bad leaders exhibit many of these traits.

I have only seen one very senior boss exhibit a majority of these bad traits (in fact all of them at times). He was a ‘chosen one’ by a CEO that shared some of those bad traits.

The moral of this story is company culture has a great influence on leadership development. If these traits are possessed by your current leadership team or your emerging leaders, you will be in for a rocky road ahead.

Which of these bad traits stand out to you? Do you have any other signs of ineffective leaders worthy of mention? Leave a comment and share your insights with others…

Company culture ideas

Pompous and arrogant

Hiding or misrepresenting business strategy and results

Company culture … lacks empathy

Company culture … leaders who can’t see it

Intimidator

Poor people skills

Little use of praise

Not communicating business strategy

Non-listener

No humility

Limited delegation

Key takeaways

If you contemplate handing in your two weeks’ notice every time you talk to your boss, you’re not alone. Terrible bosses? I have had my share. Know the facts of terrible bosses so you can get out before it’s too late.

In the classic TV show Dragnet, Sergeant Joe Friday famously admonished witnesses to give him “just the facts.” Generations of business executives have adopted the same approach, demanding substantiation rather than conjecture.

The problem is that the world is a confusing place and there are plenty of facts to go around. A quick Google search is all that is required to find the facts to support any argument. Studies conflict with other studies, contexts shift and the game goes on.

A 2018 poll from job-search site Monster found as many as 76% of people say they currently have or recently had a toxic boss. Meanwhile, just 19% of respondents describe their boss as a mentor.

One of the most surprising things about boss motivation is that it often comes after starting a new behavior, not before. You’ve seen this haven’t you?

We have this common misconception that motivation arrives as a result of passively consuming a motivational video or reading an inspirational book. However, active inspiration can be a far more powerful motivator. Motivation is often the result of an action, not the cause of it.

Here are the top traits of terrible bosses drawn from my years of experience:

Pompous and arrogant

Perhaps the worst trait I’ve personally observed is ego. We all have an ego, but the ego I’m talking about is the ‘super-ego’ that dominates. I’ve found if a boss is really good at what they do, they won’t have to tell others about it.

It’s all about them, isn’t it? If a leader doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self” they will not engender the trust, confidence, and loyalty of those they lead.

Any boss is only as good as his or her team’s desire to be led by them. Real bosses take the blame and give the credit – not the other way around.

Lacks empathy

Tim Brown, the CEO and President of IDEO, the global innovation, and design firm, describes empathy as making an effort to “see the world through the eyes of others, understand the world through their experiences, and feel the world through their emotions.”

Bad bosses don’t have this ability because they don’t care. Extraordinarily bad leaders address problems in the open public. They don’t coach; they make things personal and like to pass on the blame to specific employees and teams.

The know-it-all

The worst bosses are acutely unaware of how much they don’t know. They most often have a big need to be the smartest person in the room and have no desire to learn from others. One of the hallmarks of great bosses is their insatiable curiosity.

Bad bosses, on the other hand, aren’t extremely curious about their organization, and this weakness creates huge problems for the future.

Poor people skills

Terrible bosses are often negative people who have no idea how to motivate others. They share their negative opinions about the company or a department-wide project, rather than emphasizing the positive aspects of a situation.

Unable to consider anyone’s viewpoint but their own, poor bosses don’t respond well to complaints or suggestions. And they love to put their own ‘spin’ on issues.

Non-listener

A bad boss often seems to listen but never hears. They rarely are willing to work to understand the needs and desires of others.

No humility

Bad bosses are energized by being right. They rarely acknowledge the effort or success of the team. When they do, it is usually covered in a big ‘spin.’

They very rarely admit to their weaknesses or mistakes they have made and are never humble.

Don’t tell the truth

A boss who lies is untrustworthy — not a good foundation for a productive relationship. Some can become so immune to their own stories that they can convince themselves that the lies are true.

They may legitimize their fibbing by rationalizing that others do it, deflect this character flaw by pointing the finger to others, or use mistruths to generally hide blunders.

Other bad bosses just can’t face the fallout that will result from telling the truth.

Never wrong

Learning to admit that you’re wrong is one of the best things you can do for your colleagues.

Ask Lexi Reese, the COO of Gusto and a former Googler, and she’ll tell you the best thing a boss can do is communicate to their reports the type of leader they aspire to be and then say, “But I also am human and I’ll probably f—k it up.”

Most importantly, the boss should encourage their reports to let them know when they’re falling short.

If your boss refuses to admit that they’re wrong, this means they’re not willing to go out of their comfort zone for you.

A national independent study by Lynn Taylor Consulting found that 91% of employees said that owning up to one’s mistakes as a manager was an important factor in employee job satisfaction.

Admitting to mistakes sends a message to your employees that it’s a safe environment to take smart risks — and without that, you’re sapping innovation.

Consistently overpromises

An overpromising boss is an untrustworthy boss. You might have been promised a series of promotions, increased responsibility, or a raise, but all you get is silence.

It’s often helpful to get to the truth through emails if one-on-one discussions are getting you nowhere. If the responses aren’t coming via email, or at all, be wary.

Rarely expresses gratitude

Does your boss put you down in front of others? If you let it go once, it’ll happen over and over again. Good bosses know they should have this conversation with their employees in private.

While it may sound counterintuitive to apologize to someone for something that clearly wasn’t your fault, amazing things happen when you can bring yourself to do so. An intimate bond is forged.

All you have to say is something akin to, ‘I blame myself for your outburst earlier today. Clearly, I’ve been relying on you too much. If you have any issues with me, I’d appreciate hearing about them in the privacy of my office.

A micromanager

Micromanagers can’t resist becoming involved in the smallest details of their employee’s jobs. While micromanaging ensures that everything is done the manager’s way, employees resent the lack of responsibility, autonomy, and lack of growth opportunities.

Is your boss so pushy and overbearing that you find yourself unable to accomplish anything efficiently? This may be a perpetual problem, so get ready for it early.

If they want a play-by-play of every meeting, email, and call, then take detailed notes of every business interaction and send them to your boss. Your boss will think that they’re on top of things and will leave you alone.

By over-communicating with a micromanager or needy boss, you’ll diffuse their desire to constantly check-in, while you build all-important trust at the same time.

Don’t want to hear your viewpoint

Stubborn bosses are as common as company water coolers. But there’s a fine line between appearing insubordinate and arguing your case. If there’s something in it for your boss, you have the best chance of changing behavior.

You must avoid the temptation to fight the same battles repeatedly. Change your argument to find a compromise, and document your case if you’re passionate about your perspective.

Just don’t win the battle and lose the war.

The bottom line

From my experience, great bosses rarely if ever exhibit any of these ‘deep dark’ negative traits. Good leaders occasionally will exhibit one of these negative traits, but not in a significant way. The very worst of the bad leaders exhibit many of these traits.

I have only seen one very senior boss exhibit a majority of these bad traits (in fact all of them at times). He was a ‘chosen one’ by a CEO that shared some of those bad traits.

The moral of this story is company culture has a great influence on leadership development. If these traits are possessed by your current leadership team or your emerging leaders, you will be in for a rocky road ahead.

Which of these bad traits stand out to you? Do you have any other signs of ineffective leaders worthy of mention? Leave a comment and share your insights with others…

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Handling Customer Complaints … 8 Mistakes to Avoid

The Business Intelligence Process Part 3 Competitive Analysis

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