Poor Leadership - James Brudenell
Introduction
When I think of leadership, I usually think about it from the aspect of, "Who would I consider to be great leaders and why?". Some of the names that come to mind immediately are, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. They were all great men that had a hand in changing history. I believe there are many leadership lessons to be learned from their examples. Having said that, I also believe looking at the reverse is also beneficial. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes. There are leaders we would consider to be good, like Abraham Lincoln. Through his leadership the United States stayed united. Others we would consider bad, like Adolf Hitler. He used his leadership skills to promote the genocide of the Jewish people. Both of these leaders had excellent leadership abilities, but what about leaders with poor or bad leadership skills. What can we learn from them?
Types of Bad Leadership What are "bad leadership" skills? In 2004, Barbara Kellerman wrote a book entitled, "Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters". In her book, Barbara suggests bad leadership can be categorized into 7 types. The 7 types are: Incompetent, Rigid, Intemperate, Callous, Corrupt, Insular and Evil (Kellerman, 2008). In regard to these 7 types, I would like to explore many of them using the example of the aristocrat, James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan. James Brudenell was an English officer best known for leading the charge of the light brigade against Russia during the Crimean War in 1854. He was the perfect specimen of what a leader should look like. He was tall and good looking with golden hair and blue eyes. He was also an excellent swordsman and had great courage. Given these qualities it would appear that James was destined to be a great leader. This was not the case. One of the bad leadership types mentioned by Kellerman is the lack of self-control or being intemperate. I believe James Brudenell fit this description. He was an
When I think of leadership, I usually think about it from the aspect of, "Who would I consider to be great leaders and why?". Some of the names that come to mind immediately are, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. They were all great men that had a hand in changing history. I believe there are many leadership lessons to be learned from their examples. Having said that, I also believe looking at the reverse is also beneficial. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes. There are leaders we would consider to be good, like Abraham Lincoln. Through his leadership the United States stayed united. Others we would consider bad, like Adolf Hitler. He used his leadership skills to promote the genocide of the Jewish people. Both of these leaders had excellent leadership abilities, but what about leaders with poor or bad leadership skills. What can we learn from them?
Types of Bad Leadership What are "bad leadership" skills? In 2004, Barbara Kellerman wrote a book entitled, "Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters". In her book, Barbara suggests bad leadership can be categorized into 7 types. The 7 types are: Incompetent, Rigid, Intemperate, Callous, Corrupt, Insular and Evil (Kellerman, 2008). In regard to these 7 types, I would like to explore many of them using the example of the aristocrat, James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan. James Brudenell was an English officer best known for leading the charge of the light brigade against Russia during the Crimean War in 1854. He was the perfect specimen of what a leader should look like. He was tall and good looking with golden hair and blue eyes. He was also an excellent swordsman and had great courage. Given these qualities it would appear that James was destined to be a great leader. This was not the case. One of the bad leadership types mentioned by Kellerman is the lack of self-control or being intemperate. I believe James Brudenell fit this description. He was an
References: Kellerman, B. (2008, April 15). Toxic Leader. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from www.wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_leader Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. Wallechinsky, D., & Wallace, I. (n.d.). Court-Martial of English Soldier James Thomas Brudenell. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from www.trivia-library.com: http://www.trivia-library.com/a/court-martial-of-english-soldier-james-thomas-brudenell.htm Woodham-Smith, C. (1953). The Reason Why. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.