Recently I tweeted that I believe that everything in a church, ministry, business, NGO, or NPO in fact does hinge on leadership. With great leaders the organization will flourish and fulfill it’s mission, whether to develop unbelievers into fully committed followers of Christ or to grow a business into an industry leader.

After being in corporate management for ten years and most recently being in full time ministry for the past twenty, I want to share four quick signs I have recognized that are very evident that leadership in your organization will be it’s downfall or stagnation. I have not always believed this crucial concept, “everything rises and falls on leadership.” It was my opinion that sources good and bad, inside and outside the organization played a major role in it’s success. I have since repented and have turned from my wicked ways. Leadership is one of the top three reasons why an organization thrives instead of dies. I will post on the other two soon.

1. Indecisive Leadership. When the leader or leaders cannot pull the trigger on a decision that needs to be made the leadership process comes to a halt. I am talking about any decision! A decision to go forward or not go forward. This amounts to the leader not willing to take risks for the sake of playing it safe. Not every decision should be one of risk, but when fear paralyzes a leader, it is over.

2. Procrastination. Similar to the first bad sign, with the exception that this focuses on results. When the leader waits too late to make a decision, momentum or that point of critical mass will pass and it is almost impossible to regain. The exception is to replace the current leader or he/she must surround themselves with other leaders whose leadership skills exceed that of the leader. Of course this can lead to other possible problems.

3. Does Not Encourage. There is nothing worse than a leader who is not encouraging to those whom he leads. Many times the reason for not encouraging others is that the leader has not been in a culture of encouragement in the past. This deficiency can be corrected by those who provide downstream leadership to the key leader. I am talking about a board or a group of others who hold spiritual or fiduciary responsibility for the organization.

4. Controlling. You might know this as micro-managing, but while this terminology is not vague in the business world, it’s meaning can be lost in the world of ministry. So, for these purposes we will use the term controlling. When it is “my way or the highway,” the highway usually wins out as people will leave and will leave quickly.

 

If you see any of these signs in the leadership of your church, ministry, or business, it is a good bet you have bad leadership. Understand the leader is not necessarily bad, but their leadership style and skills are. Many are well intentioned, wanting to do what is best for the organization, but instead their leadership limits the potential of what could be done. Look into ways to get the leader the help he/she needs to become a great leader. It’s your responsibility.

So, what are other signs of Bad Leadership that I didn’t cover that others need to know about?