Great leaders, bad leaders and some real stinkers.

Over the years I've experienced some great leaders, some bad leaders, and some real stinkers.

When I look back the ones I remember most fondly and would work with at the drop of a hat, are the great leaders; no doubt about it. Yet the ones I have learnt most from are more often than not the bad leaders, and they probably wouldn’t have been aware or cared they were teaching me. The lessons I learned from them are clearer, stronger and had a greater impact on my own leadership. It was through seeing the impact they had on myself and others that gave the best leadership lesson.

As a leader you should always consider what impact your actions are having on others. Yes, you need to achieve the goals, but that achievement is lessened if you lose others along the way, but it is magnified if they go with you, sharing in the success.

We naturally want to forget the bad leaders we've experienced, but they can teach us valuable lessons. They give an opportunity for us to learn today from what happened yesterday and use our past negative experiences to guide us in what not to do as a leader.

Developing our leadership skills is a lifelong lesson, and don't believe anyone who says they know everything there is.

Follow these simple steps to use your past negative experiences as a positive lesson. Reflect on the situation and consider:

▶️ What were the actions of that leader? What did they say, how did they act and what example did they set?

▶️ How did it turn out? Were goals achieved? Was success shared?

▶️ How did others react? What were their emotions, reactions and lasting impression?

▶️ What would you do differently in a similar situation? How would you act to ensure a positive situation for you and others?

We all want to work with great leaders, but if you're not lucky enough to do that there are still plenty of bad ones to learn from.out having and using the right skills and tools to focus, assess, plan... and take control.