Leadership Saboteurs: What are Their Impact on Leaders

When it comes to leadership, there is a natural cycle. Setbacks (Triggers) create feelings of insecurity and vulnerability (Reactions). The emotions that result are called “Moods.”

We have a wide variety of moods that range from our deepest, darkest self to our best selves.

Moods are governed by our emotional state as well as factors such as physical health and motivation. We all experience sadness, happiness, pessimism, optimism, fear, or anxiety, etc.

When leaders are in an upbeat, positive mood, their moods spill over to their staff, positively affecting the staff's performance and the better the company’s results. The reverse is also true. The more negative the leader’s mood, the lower the productivity and level of employee engagement.

So as leaders, we need to know how to control the climate in our organization by managing our moods. In a Harvard Business Review article called Leadership That Gets Results, research shows that up to 30% of a company's financial results (as measured by key business performance indicators such as revenue growth, return on sales, efficiency and profitability) are determined by the climate of the organization.

The inner critic is a powerful, all-pervasive internal enemy lurking in the minds of many. I’m sure we have one. But what are the symptoms? What are the sources of this self-criticism? And how can we cope with it?

People can mimic leaders, who are perceived as stronger, more charismatic, or more competent. This idealization of leadership can be psychologically damaging. The inner critic has a dual function: it can be used as a means to keep learning from the best, pushing ourselves to go the extra mile or it can set ourselves up for failure — leading to self-sabotage and self-defeating behaviours.

The first step in handling our inner critic is understanding its purpose. It’s not meant to shame or condemn us or our actions or intentions (although that may be part of its job). Instead, it can be an ally that wants us to do better; to become better at what we do; and to become an even stronger leader so that when push comes to shove, things will fall into place automatically as opposed to being forced by ourselves or somebody else.

If we need to change the behaviour of our inner critics, then we should make it our goal (or in this case our mission) to change the way we think about ourselves and others around us. And if all else fails — identify the root cause behind its behaviour which will prove far more effective than trying to change its behaviour on our own with only the power of words and good intentions.

How many times do we hear from our inner voice, “me, I, myself” with very little regard for the needs and feelings of others. Overly self-centred behaviour becomes the first give-away of leaders who are filled with greed. They have a strong desire for power and wealth. Jealousy goes one step further - we feel threatened, or fearful of losing what we possess to someone else. These leaders lack empathy. They are never satisfied. They go for short-term results and are experts in manipulation. In the pursuit of their material needs, they know no limits.

Like a force of nature, it sucks us in and entraps us.

The inner voice allows us to respond to our bodies and emotions in the way we are capable of, using our mind as a tool for survival. The inner voice is one of the most crucial aspects of leadership because if we remove it, we lose power over ourselves and our team members.

As leaders, we need a sense of self-awareness so that we can know what kind of winning strategies our team members are capable of and how they need to be coached, mentored, cajoled or inspired to figure out what they need to do differently in order for them to be successful on the field.

We will need to listen actively from our team, acknowledge the resources and support they need to succeed, and avoid ruining everything by winning at all costs.

When we have an understanding of ourselves and the people around us—we know which buttons to push when—leadership becomes far smoother. We don’t get into trouble when our inner voice begins challenging what our conscious mind wants us to do!

When we realise that our inner voice is always there even when we don’t want it, then we can accept everything in our lives as part of our evolutionary process.

Most leaders have experienced a moment in time when they’ve had their emotions hijacked by the process. They may have been in a state of emotional turmoil, but it can be so much worse than having a breakdown.

Being emotionally affected by something doesn’t mean our leadership abilities are derailed. It’s just that we need to learn to process our feelings as they arise. We can suppress them until they don’t arise at all. That is not leadership. We need to learn to react to them in the moment, not in the back of our mind. In other words, if we are having a hard time remembering what we wanted to say because we were emotional, that isn’t leadership either.

As leaders and people who want to be leaders, we often feel emotions we don’t want others to see us feeling. However, as leaders, we should avoid alternating between showing excitement, exhilaration, or happiness and in the next moment, showing sadness, disappointment, or desperation. This will create instability and confusion amongst our team members.