Bad leadership behaviors spread through what the team copies. A leader who writes emails at midnight has, by the next morning, a team that reads emails at midnight.
In March 2023, 16 members of the Forbes Coaches Council described the harmful behaviours they observe in the leaders they work with, and how those patterns were corrected. I was one of them. Here are the 16 examples in my reading, with what I have learned since in leadership coaching.
The list reads like a catalogue of bad leadership behaviors. The reassuring part: Every single one was recognised and changed.
One leader sent emails at all hours of the day and night. This helped him manage his own anxiety and urgency to act, but it undermined everything the organisation said about work-life balance and avoiding burnout. A caveat below his signature assured recipients that the timing was his preference and not an expectation. The caveat cancelled itself. The easy fix: Schedule the email.
Source: Emily Grandinetta, Grandinetta Group
In meetings, the leader stated his own view first and then asked others for theirs. The result was an echo chamber of similar perspectives. Through coaching, he learned to ask for other perspectives first, probe them, and only then come to a conclusion.
Source: Shefali Raina, Alpha Lane Partners
One leader was a big proponent of radical transparency, as it turned out only when giving feedback. Receiving the kind of blunt feedback he liked to give was much harder than he thought. We solved it from two directions: Developing his openness to feedback and tempering the tone of feedback in the organisation.
Source: Rajeev Shroff, Cupela Consulting
One leader had the good intention of being accessible to her team. The unintended consequence: Her team felt it had to respond to her immediately at all hours as well. She fixed the always-on atmosphere by setting explicit norms for when and how to communicate, and by visibly taking time away.
Source: Brandy Simula, Brandy L. Simula Coaching and Consulting
The leader had deemed himself the «efficiency police» and was overly critical about anything that did not meet his standard. He was ruining relationships. He slowly changed when he started answering one question: «How would I respond right now if I put the relationship before my need to be right?»
Source: Justin Patton, justinpatton.com
Most leaders I coach find it hard to stop imparting their wisdom, fighting fires and solving other people's problems. Many believe they are listening and delegating. Bad habits are hard to break. I ask them to ask each individual in their team: «What can I do less of?» And then listen. Try it at home first.
Source: Chris Averill, Northford Capital
The leader worked during vacation while telling the team how important it is to disconnect. The message that landed was different: «If you want to be the leader, you work during your time off.» More is caught than taught. The way out was delegation with trust, confidence and training.
Source: Christopher Mullen, chrismullen.org
Time and again I see leaders not walking the talk. They keep preaching what needs to be done and do not do it themselves. Coaching made them aware of the gap between the desire to fix something and the action that actually fixes it.
Source: Nishika de Rosairo, HumanQ
One leader I coach always has something to add, can never complete a conversation and always has to offer a solution. The impact: Disengagement, reduced motivation and fatigue in the team. What we practise: Listening and allowing.
Source: Alessandra Marazzi, Alessandra Marazzi GmbH
One leader set the example that each product owner was the «CEO» of their team. This created a hierarchy, so team members stopped sharing ideas and objections. I coached this leader to invite others to share ideas and to anchor that mindset with the product owners. A diversity of voices matters in a team as much as in an organisation.
Source: Savannah Rayat, Rayat Leadership Coaching
One leader had a habit of using words not everyone understood and making a lot of assumptions. The team followed the example. The key was understanding that clear communication is the basis of good relationships.
Source: Kalina Terzieva, My Coaching Brain
When an idea sounds wrong, a leader can say: «Let's explore other options.» The overuse of these negative qualifiers secretly tells everyone: «I'm right, you're wrong.» Progress starts with being fully aware of one's own communication style and making a conscious effort to change it.
My own contribution to the panel.
The leader unknowingly favoured an employee due to shared personal experiences, causing friction in the team. Realising the error, he addressed it in an open conversation, apologised and committed to rectifying the situation. He did.
Source: Shruti Parashar, GOALisB
A leader made «being happy» the goal for her team. The problem: Happiness depends on factors outside the team's control. I coached her to prioritise «clarity of expectations» instead. Leaders underestimate what it means for a team to know their work actually matters and to have the confidence to course-correct when there is a detour.
Source: Asia Bribiesca-Hedin, Bridgewell
A CEO with a large senior team intervened regularly in discussions to push a decision. The team found it autocratic, he found the discussions repetitive. Both were right. They turned meetings around by preparing ahead, building on what was said before and upskilling team members in facilitation.
Source: Sheila Goldgrab, Goldgrab Leadership Coaching
My coachee always asked the team for ideas, which is good, but a leader should deliver some solutions as well. Your team looks to you for guidance and needs to see that you have a vision and know how to drive the company. You hire people who know more than you. Normal. But you should always understand how to frame their tasks.
Source: Edyta Kwiatkowska, Leadit
None of the 16 behaviours is malicious. Each grew out of a good intention: Being available, keeping pace, adding value, living transparency. In most cases the leader setting a bad example is an engaged leader with a blind spot. That is also why outside feedback works so much faster than self-reflection.
My practice shows a second pattern: The team noticed the behaviour long before the leader did. The question «What can I do less of?» from example 6 is therefore the cheapest intervention on this list. It takes a minute and usually delivers more than a 360-degree feedback.
Further reading on hofmann.coach: 14 lessons for new leaders from executive coaches · Positive Leadership: Five tests to run before you invest · Leadership Coaching
Note: This page goes back to the Forbes Coaches Council expert panel «16 Leadership Behaviors That Set A Bad Example For The Team», published 2 March 2023. The 16 examples come from the members named; example 12 is my own contribution. The framing is mine.
Cristian Hofmann is an executive coach in Zurich and Schaffhausen (MAS Coaching & Supervision BSO, Forbes contributor). Over more than 20 years he has coached more than 1,500 leaders: CEOs, executive boards and leadership teams in Switzerland, with measurably agreed goals and, on request, pay-for-results. More about Cristian Hofmann.
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