Signs of a Spineless Leader
Do you have to meet a spineless leader to know one? Not necessarily. Recently, I uncovered a spineless leader just by learning how he handled a single set of circumstances – the orchestrating of an unfair and unjust hiring practice that covertly circumvented the promotion of the best candidate. I had adequate information to visualize the yellow stripe illuminating from the back of his neck to the base of his spine.
For sure, the details of this tragic case would make for juicy story-telling. But I’ll not go there because the story is a little too close to home. So I’ll use this example as a catalyst to share five signs of a spineless leader. If you see any of these within the leadership of your organization, beware. Think seriously about moving on.
- Spineless leaders refuse to hire people better than themselves. They feel threatened that star performers will show them for who they really are. Their practices weaken and demotivate. Ultimately this weakens the organization’s product or service.
- They hide behind, and manipulate, self-appointed committees to get what they want. This evades the ramifications of the predetermined decision by affording an escape hatch for the responsibility of the decision.
- The decisions they do make seldom put stakeholders first. These stakeholders can be customers (a business leader), constituents (a politician), or students (a school administrator).
- They dodge the truth and avoid the tough decisions by asking questions – superficially seeking the opinions of subordinates. Too many “What do you think?” questions are nothing more than avoidance.
- They answer questions by beginning with, “That’s a good question.” This gives spineless leaders time to choreograph a political response that either fails to answer the question or does so in vague terms.
Spineless leaders are accidental leaders, not intentional ones. And everyone knows it. The obvious question is “how do these lily-livers become the boss in the first place?” While one can attribute their rise to political shrewdness, the frightening answer is that someone bought the “smoke and mirrors” and promoted them into a leadership position.
Spineless leaders hire spineless leaders and create a slithering chain of command that is difficult to break. Sadly, in the case I'm referring to here, that person remains at the top of the heap.
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Dec '10
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
One of the ways such people remain in positions of influence is that people are afraid to call them what they are, in public, so everyone else knows what they're dealing with ;-)
And I agree with all of your points except the last one. Using some sort of short, verbal delaying tactic while one formulates thoughts is perfectly fine. So long as it isn't a tic, it indicates to me that someone is-- at least-- giving real thought to the answer rather than some pre-baked evergreen boilerplate.
Apr '11
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Wow, reading your post has been a bit cathartic for me. I went back to school as a middle-aged guy, got my History/Secondary Ed. degree, and was hired at a high school. I have never seen such a poorly administered organization in my life, the Principal and my Dept. Head displayed some or all of the traits you described, and for whatever reason I always seemed to make them uncomfortable. The parents liked me, the students loved me, and they obviously thought I threatened their little empire of B.S. Needless to say, when when it came time to let someone go I was the #1 candidate.
Apr '12
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
It's the nature of the political beast. Politicians try to offend the fewest number of peeps. Take the issue of gay rights/ equality... Obama hid his true feelings in 2007 in order to get elected, Romney hid his true feelings in order to get the GOP nod in 2012.
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
KarlUB: One of the ways such people remain in positions of influence is that people are afraid to call them what they are, in public, so everyone else knows what they're dealing with ;-)
And I agree with all of your points except the last one. Using some sort of short, verbal delaying tactic while one formulates thoughts is perfectly fine. So long as it isn't a tic, it indicates to me that someone is-- at least-- giving real thought to the answer rather than some pre-baked evergreen boilerplate. · 35 minutes ago
Good observation, Karl. When I took media training, they called this "free wheeling" - answering a question with a question or finding a delay tactic to organize/find the thought. But when it is "that's a good question" everytime, the insincerity shows.
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
How did you know the example was an educational institution?
Jul '11
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
It could have been the SF police dept
Apr '12
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
John Bell
· · 1 hour ago
And they use your first name - "That's a good question, Bob."
Edited on May 31, 2012 at 8:05pmRe: Signs of a Spineless Leader
DocJay: It could have been the SF police dept
52 minutes ago
Regardless of one's political bent, there's little doubt the fix was in on this one. Thanks for pointing it out, Jay.
Jul '11
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
I could not verify the validity of all of that John Bell but got enough articles to confirm SF has one strange force. That came in an email today and it seemed to fit. I have seen arrogant docs with average abilities at best surround themselves with folks of questionable abilities and character much to the detriment of unsuspecting patients.
Jun '10
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Five absolutely true principles. In my 25 years in the corporate world, I saw a few of the spineless variety--luckily, I saw even more good leaders.
Apr '12
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Mr. Bell,
I agree with all except the last point - is careful consideration of questions a sign of a spineless leader per se?
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Liberty Dude: Mr. Bell,
I agree with all except the last point - is careful consideration of questions a sign of a spineless leader per se? · 3 minutes ago
You are the second person to point that out. I could have said that better. I take no issue with "buying time" to formulate a response. But when every response is "that's a good question", the respondent's sincerity comes into question.
Mar '11
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Thinking back about the leaders I've personally dealt with, a few were excellent and several were good, but I've seen more empty suits than an inventory auditor at Brooks Brothers.
Most of the bad ones were guilty of exhibiting a number of your signs, Mr. Bell, but the ones that combined #2 and #4 were by far the worst.
I was once in a group where we were to evaluate two different workstation models for software development. We sat down and considered the price, the ease of use, the amount of effort that would be required for maintenance, the compatibility with existing systems, and a whole host of other considerations and recommended System A.
Wrong answer. For some reason, we were asked to do the evaluation again, and we did, and made the same recommendation. Shortly after this, System B was introduced to much corporate rejoicing. But the workstations sat, unloved and unused. The toolset was inadequate, the user interfaces were counterintuitive and bizarre, the documentation was actually kind of funny, if you think Kafka was a comedian.
Mar '11
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Later on, when one of our number defected to the Dark Side of Management, we were told that one of our "strategic partners" (i.e. a competitor we were temporarily playing ball with) had expressed the opinion that System B was the path to the broad, sunlit uplands of the future.
They had their answer before they asked the question. They were just looking for cover in case the answer was wrong.
Jul '10
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Percival: Later on, when one of our number defected to the Dark Side of Management, we were told that one of our "strategic partners" (i.e. a competitor we were temporarily playing ball with) had expressed the opinion that System B was the path to the broad, sunlit uplands of the future.
They had their answer before they asked the question. They were just looking for cover in case the answer was wrong.
These are the same chumps constantly sending emails with a request for confirmation of receipt.
They should all get vanity plates for their Miatas that say: NotMyBad.
Apr '12
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Oops, should've read above. Thanks for answering Mr. Bell, do agree with you there.
Apr '12
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Has anyone else seen the Danish movie, The Boss of it All? The two main characters are a totally spineless boss and an actor. The boss has been playing his employees like a string orchestra for years by claiming that it was the "boss of it all's decision." So, when he's about to sell the company and fire the employees, he brings in an actor to play "the boss of it all" who is quite surprised to find the relationships with his employees that he knows nothing about.
Apr '12
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
And as for personal experiences with spineless bosses, I have worked for big corporations and consulted with corporations, governments, and non-profits. The species is widespread.
Oct '10
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
If this dialog moved to involve examples of poor leadership, the servers hosting this site just might crash one thinks.
With this thought in hand, might true leadership and the incentive for productivity cease at the retirement for a given soul ? Should they resign themselves as toothless consumers of oatmeal or apply the talents and wisdom to ensure a well and hard earned steak for those that have the incentive to learn from success.
Therin lies a rub, Takers ?
Edited on June 1, 2012 at 5:51amApr '12
Re: Signs of a Spineless Leader
Being a believer in reincarnation, I see multiple questions there, but assuming you mean retirement of an individual, I would say, no. They are still the same person, as is the case with Mr. Bell. He is recently retired from his "big career" and is now spending his time at tennis, golf, and Ricochet. Obviously, he is also probably trying to pass on his wisdom in other ways, or he would not be encountering spineless educrats. Some "retired" leaders do learn to slow down some, but for most, they either find ways to keep passing it on or they die shortly after retirement..