to forget identifying their successor and training her on the job while they are still in the saddle . When the leader suddenly goes away , the vacuum sets in . The power struggle creates a rift among different factions . Someone who is lucky enough becomes a consensus candidate . He is the product of the situation and made to wear the hero ' s shoes . His only skill is to be at the right place at the right time and perceived to be a person who would trigger the least nuisance for other aspirants .
Misleaders are challenged on the ability to aspiration ratio . Some of the misleaders put a cart before a horse . Their personal interest always prevails over the organizational interest . They hijack the organization and make it work for their vested interest but project exactly the opposite image . They project how the organization has benefited by their aura while they remain in limelight due to the organization .
A mis-leader is like the moon , they reflect glory which shines on light of the sun . The secret of their glory is their organization . There are dark spots on the shining moon . But they can only be seen when watched closely and carefully .
Misleaders always try to maintain a glorified public image . They exploit organizational machinery and waste resources for that purpose . That is the reason misleaders always have a different image with the team than their popular public perception . Their dark spots are visible only to their team . The team sees them without the mask which they wear in public .
In the case of some misleaders , the situation is exactly the opposite . They wear masks while dealing with their team . The outside world knows their real evil nature . North Korea ' s Kim dynasty is the best example of this masking .
Under mis-leadership meritocracy gets transformed into mediocracy . Like every leader , misleaders also have followers and they create reflected aura around the misleader . Misleaders promote people who are loyal to them rather than using rational parameters like their talent , experience , or expertise . They always maintain an innercircle of sycophants who constantly keep boasting them . Misleaders feel secure among sycophants and expect everyone in the organization to praise them . Their sycophants run the campaigns to enforce misleaders ' authority .
Misleaders always try to maintain a glorified public image . They exploit organizational machinery and waste resources for that purpose . That is the reason misleaders always have a different image with the team than their popular public perception . Their dark spots are visible only to their team . The team sees them without the mask which they wear in public .
Sycophants create a virtual culture of sycophancy . They put salt in the milk ( organizational culture of team spirit ) and split the team dynamics . It helps a misleader in the mismanagement . Sycophants keep the misleader away from the reality for their own vested interest . In fact , the sycophants are the most beneficiaries of the misleaders ' regime . They keep ripping-off benefits disproportionately higher than their caliber , hard work and logical share .
Misleaders ' propaganda succeeds while they are in power . But damage they caused is realized only when they go away . How do mis-leaders harm organizations ? Mis-leaders commit many unpardonable sins which are very difficult to reverse . They hijack the mission and vision of the organization , dilute the collective values , spoil the culture , trigger mediocracy , develop nepotism , usher attrition of talented and experienced employees , misuse or idle assets , push the organization towards a negative growth , drain energies , demoralize partners , and antagonize regulators .
Mis-leaders are not talent-biased rather they are biased against talent . Lust for power and insecure mindset are the foundations of nepotism , mediocracy , and misuse of power . These mis-leaders look at talent and experience as a threat rather than an asset . Efforts to enshackle deserving employees results in spoiling good corporate culture , draining energies , and attrition , making the organization weak . This generates a cascading effect and the organization swiftly drifts off towards negative growth , losing its sheen .
Normally mis-leaders ride power as their inheritance in the family managed businesses . Very few business families understand that ownership is not leadership . Inheritance works in ownership but may not work in leadership . Few exceptions to this rule are Aditya Mittal , Rajiv Bajaj , Kumar Mangalam Birla who were groomed thoroughly by their fathers to take up the leadership mantle in the right age at the right opportune time . There are a few other examples in the professional organizations and cooperative sector as well . A few leaders who were appointed in haste as successors later turned out to be a really great choice . They performed in spite of any formal grooming .
Mis-leaders don ' t fit into the shoes of the great leaders from day one . Actually , that itself is their merit . Nobody , including themselves , could predict that they would be made to wear the crown of the leadership . They take much longer to realize that they are in the leadership saddle . They have no clue about the aptitude , skills , knowledge required to lead the team towards the mission of the organization . They drag their feet because they can ’ t lift the burden of leadership . They raise to the leadership saddle by looking at the glamour , authority and power rather than the responsibility associated with it . Irony is that the consensus candidate for the leadership faces the highest dis-contentment .
How do the mis-leaders vanish ? They vanish in different ways . Mostly they become victims of their own creation . They fall prey to a coup . The most tragic thing for them is that the coup is staged by people who benefited and rose in the organizational hierarchy using them as the ladder . Others become obsolete over a period of time . They lose their sheen and aura . People ignore them . It happened to Mao in the 1970s when he went out of focus for about six years though he resurrected thereafter and came out as a more powerful leader with the notorious cultural-revolution .
Today ' s friends are tomorrow ' s enemies . Leaders who sponsor and groom terrorists fall prey to them later . Similarly ,
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