Have you ever worked for a highly ineffective leader?  I have and most likely so have you.  What was always interesting to me is that many of these leaders had no one who could be completely honest with them.  The result was a continual conversation about “the king who has no clothes.”

In the September 10th edition of Sports Illustrated, the great baseball writer Tom Verducci profiled the most disappointing team of 2012, the Boston Red Sox and their manager Bobby Valentine.  What once was the game’s model franchise has turned into a completely dysfunctional environment full of strife, conflict, and failure.

Are you a leader who is currently ineffective?  Sometimes it is hard to properly self-evaluate when you are constantly putting out fires and managing crises.  The following is a checklist of what makes Valentine highly ineffective.  See if any of these practices describe you:

  • You Lack Experience For The Position – Valentine had not been in a major league dugout in 10 years.
  • You Lack Support From Management – Valentine was not general manager’s Ben Cherington’s initial choice and was only given only a two-year contract.
  • You Lack The Trust Of Your Team – Valentine lost the team’s trust early in the season by making negative comments about former 3B Kevin Youkilis.
  • Your Team Rebels Publicly – In response to Valentine’s handling of Youkilis, 2B Dustin Pedroia took his displeasure of his coach’s actions to the media.
  • You Lose The Team’s Leaders – After Pedroia’s comments, a fellow manager said, “If you’re going to manage today, you better have the important players in the clubhouse.  You have to work through them; otherwise you lose the others.”
  • You Make Careless Mistakes – Valentine managed a game earlier this year in which he did not know if the opposing pitcher was right or left-handed.  Nothing erodes trust of new leaders more than careless mistakes and incompetence.
  • You Do Not Value People – In August, pitching coach Bob McClure returned to the team after a two-week absence due to a family emergency.  Valentine condescendingly stated he was “on vacation”.
  • You Do Not Pay The Price Necessary For Leadership – Former manager Terry Francona used to arrive eight hours before game time.  On Friday September 7th, it was reported that Valentine arrived at 4:15 pm for a 7:05 pm game.  The Red Sox lost that evening by a score of 20-2.
  • You Are A Vampire – Highly ineffective leaders drain the life out of their teams because so much of the team’s energy is diverted to solving everyday issues and resolving unhealthy conflict.
  • You Have No Friends – While it is not necessary to be liked by everyone, successful leaders still build a broad and strong relational base.  When your team likes you, not only are they able to help you, they want to.

Little Experience, A Lack of Managerial Support, A Lack of Leadership Support, Mistrust, Public Rebellion, Incompetence, Not Valuing People, Not Paying The Price, Being A Vampire, and Having No Friends.  Valentine’s tenure will be very short in Boston.  If any of these 10 practices describe you, please make changes today or your tenure as a leader may be abbreviated as well.

Leaders, of the 10 items mentioned, which is one area you can improve in today as a leader?

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