Leadership Types With a Twist

 Actually, it's different types of leaders. They get glorified unnecessarily, sometimes. But instead of a positive typology, let's look at some negatives or negative types among leaders, for a change. The following are the major ones-

1. Spineless 

2. Heartless

3. Witless

4. Bureaucratic

5. Consultant-driven

I shall elaborate. The first has no spine. He/ She will not back up subordinates, blame someone for all wrongs, and take credit for things he/she did not do/initiate

The second may be good at getting things done, at a great human cost. He/she does not recognise that humans are working for them (though it could be robots soon). No thoughts for feelings, or other unnecessary things that hamper work.  Sometimes, ethics also go out of the window.

The third are entertaining at best, and completely useless for the tasks on hand. 

The fourth act as if the organisation is a government office with file pushers- not doers. Nothing ever gets done, and subordinates get exhausted with procedure.

These guys come up with a new flavour-of-the month fad every month, usually suggested by BCG or McKinsey or a home-grown consultant. Everyone tries to do Design Thinking, or IoT, or Benchmarking for 4 weeks approximately, until a new word catches his/her attention.. and then, you know the rest. 

Double-speak or Marketing-speak

It is sometimes hard to read something that puts a positive spin on something that's clearly a drawback or a negative, and wonder if you missed something. Following are just a few instances-

Kerala is green everywhere you go. Yes, but the hidden message there is that there is hardly any industry there. Most states lost their green cover to industries that created jobs, a necessary price to pay (to an extent).

The perfect way to explore the narrow streets of this town (just heard it on a travel show) is on a bike- but why are the streets narrow? Is it bad planning?

Politicos announcing monetary relief at their whim, in response to a disaster. Shouldn't the administration already have a plan (and a set amount which is fair to all concerned) in such cases? Why leave it to the whims of one guy? Also, why not prevent disasters in the first place?

Police talking about cases to the media before actually getting a conviction. Is it fair to a person who could be accused wrongly of a crime? May lead to a media trial. Ordinary people trying to prove things on social media can also be one-sided, or mistaken as to what the law actually is. Courts are needed to ensure justice to both parties.