All of us can see the “dark side” of leadership. You can all recognize the “dark side” of leadership. These destructive, volatile “Leaders”, who are often violent and dangerous, don’t lead. Instead, they serve as an example of what not do. Team members try to stay out of their way so that they don’t become the victim of the wrathful dictator.
In these situations, it’s possible that team members are looking for a new opportunity. They don’t feel engaged and are always seeking out new opportunities to escape the negative influence of this manager.
Scott Gregory’s definition of the “lazier faire” absentee leader is a more dangerous form of leader – in his Harvard Business Review Article The The Most Common Types of Incompetent Leader.
“Absentee leaders” are those who have been promoted to leadership positions but are not physically present with their teams. They are promoted to management positions and enjoy the rewards and privileges of leadership roles, but they do not have meaningful involvement with their team. Absentee leadership resembles the concept of rent-seeking in economics — taking value out of an organization without putting value in” (Gregory, 2018).
These leaders are not interested in engaging and rarely, if ever, get involved. They are more likely to avoid conflict and ignore issues. They are not able to give direction, and worse of all, they rarely provide any feedback. This means that team members don’t know where they stand. They don’t give direction and, worse of all, they don’t provide feedback. Team members are often unsure of where they stand. While constructive leadership improves job satisfaction immediately, the effects of it dwindle rapidly” (Gregory 2018).
Gregory says “Absentee leadership can immediately improve job satisfaction, but the effects dwindle quickly” (Gregory, 2018).
It is crucial that you practice the principles of “Leading up” to prevent this type of leadership from further degrading team spirit and morale.
https://news.clearancejobs.com/2020/09/01/incompetent-in-command-the-crushing-impact-of-absentee-leadership/
Steven Matthew Leonard explains how to deal in his article entitled “How to deal with an absentee Leader”.Command incompetent:Absentee Leadership’s crushing impact In September 2020.
1) Be clear with the leader about your commitment to the company and the goals and objectives of the organization.
2) Use active listening to spot the subtle annoyances in the leader’s feedback.
3) Be persistent. You must be persistent and steadfast if you want to see change.
For a healthy team dynamic, constructive leadership is essential. They can be the ‘Obi-Wan to the absentee Darth Vader leader’ but they can fix the problems in the workforce.
These are five tips to help you lead a team that is balanced.
1. Encourage people to support each other in their career growth and development.
2. Encourage employees to develop good interpersonal relationships within the organization and encourage respect for people from different backgrounds and perspectives.
3. Encourage people to accept challenging tasks with confidence, and encourage them to look for interesting opportunities and projects.
4. Encourage creativity in people and encourage them to find innovative solutions to problems.
5. To emphasize the importance of the group, encourage people to talk in a friendly and open way while encouraging people to think independently and in new ways.
Learning and practicing are key to personal growth and development. It’s time for you to confront an absentee manager in your company. You can model the behavior you want and give them concrete, actionable feedback that will help improve their skills.
You may need to be the leader of your team if you’re a member of a team with an absentee leader. If your company vision and goals are strong enough, you can overcome poor or absent leadership to reach a better place within your universe.
It doesn’t matter what, you have the power to make change happen and show that positive, constructive leadership is possible with your help.