When leaders make good decisions, their teams succeed; when they make bad decisions, people suffer and results stall. Bad leadership can also push people to leave their roles, using a toxic workplace as a jumping-off point for the next stage of their careers.
While it can be tempting to categorise all managers who make poor decisions as bad, there is a difference between making mistakes and truly negligent leadership. Many bad bosses go on to be great leaders, learning from missteps and drawing on the experience of those around them. So, what is bad leadership and how can bad managers learn from their mistakes?
What is bad leadership?
A 2024 study by Reward Gateway found that 65 per cent of Australian employees wouldn't describe their manager as appreciative and over 60 per cent reported that they didn't feel regularly recognised for their work. These can be considered as bad leadership traits.
Here are a few other commonalities to consider:
What makes a bad leader
- lack of empathy for others
- blaming others for their mistakes
- resistance to change
- poor communication skills
- dismissive of feedback and criticism
- lack of accountability
- prioritising their image
- assuming they have superior knowledge
Many people have incorrect assumptions about what makes a good leader. Hiring managers will sometimes short-list people with traits like ambition, perfectionism and competitiveness, mapping these traditional must-haves against things like time in the industry and experience. While someone can present as an ideal candidate on a resume, potential leaders won’t always have the same skills from applicant to applicant – recruiting managers must be willing to go a step further and read between the lines.
Why good leaders make bad decisions
There are many reasons why good leaders make bad decisions. Most try not to, others don’t realise they have until it’s too late and a few struggle to accept that they lack the skills to make better decisions. Leadership is a spectrum of experience, and while some lessons are more formative than others, most leaders and managers struggle for the same reason – they’re not quite sure how to approach their role and succeed.
Let’s explore some of the reasons why people might display the qualities of a bad leader.
Leadership is challenging
Put simply, working in a leadership role can be tough. Management and executive positions are often very competitive, making the people in them feel like they must constantly prove themselves to colleagues and stakeholders.
Leaders also need to manage a variety of personalities and will often work with others who exhibit the characteristics of a poor leader. It’s easy for leaders in this position to mirror the personalities around them in an attempt to fit in. However, good leaders must learn to resist this temptation and avoid making bad decisions for their companies, employees and themselves.
Many leaders are victims of self-enhancement bias
There is a disconnect between how employees see leaders and how leaders see themselves.
In general, leaders tend to rate themselves more highly than their employees do — a phenomenon called self-enhancement bias.
For example, a 2024 study conducted by Allianz found that 85 per cent of Australian managers believe they demonstrate care and empathy about their team's personal matters and how they can affect their job performance. However, only 46 per cent of employees feel the same way.
This suggests a lack of self-awareness in many leaders, which could prevent them from working on the necessary skills required to thrive within their roles.
Studying an MBA can help bridge this gap by equipping managers with relevant and up-to-date leadership skills.
5 tips for how to be a better manager and leader
One way that leaders can make good decisions and improve their skills is by learning from others. We spoke to CEOs, founders and managing directors to find out how to improve management skills.
1. Beware of overconfidence
“In many cases, overconfidence will cause bad decisions,” says David Sayce, CEO at Compare My Move. “If a good leader has experienced positive results for a long period of time, they may become overconfident in their abilities. While confidence is a good thing, it needs to be checked consistently to ensure it’s valid.”
2. Ask for advice
Sayce continues to explain that to be successful, leaders must be open to receiving advice from others. This includes asking for feedback from their teams and being aware of their knowledge gaps.
“If a leader isn’t seeking advice, it can lead to their downfall,” Sayce remarks. “They need to ensure the people around them aren’t afraid to challenge their thoughts and actions when, and if, it’s needed.”
3. Prioritise trust and honesty
Juliet Robinson, Managing Director at Big Goals, explains that leaders need to encourage trust and honesty within their teams.
“Leaders are less likely to make bad decisions when they’ve built a team where there is a high level of trust,” she says. “People need to know they can be honest if they don’t know the answer to something, need help or have made a mistake.
“By building this environment, the team is more likely to feel comfortable challenging a leader’s decision to get the best outcome.”
4. Embrace vulnerability
“Good leaders occasionally make bad decisions because they don’t allow themselves to be vulnerable,” says Robinson. “Even good leaders sometimes forget that they don’t need to know everything, and it’s okay to rely on their team.”
5. Reframe your role
Peter Benei, Founder of Anywhere Consulting, explains that managers need to interrogate the purpose of their roles to avoid falling into the trappings of poor leadership.
“Switch from being a power player — ‘I’m the leader; I will make the call’ — to a facilitator.
Benei explains that by taking this approach, leaders can grow more collaborative, productive and satisfied teams.
“Bad leadership means you are a power player, and you ignore what your team thinks. Being a facilitator not only helps you to get your team onboard with your decision, but it also boosts morale and engagement.”
Commitment to personal growth is vital
A key difference between good leadership and bad leadership comes down to self-awareness. Everyone makes mistakes, even the greatest leaders. Having the drive to learn and grow from such mistakes is what sets the best leaders apart.
A postgraduate degree equips you with essential leadership skills
According to an Ipsos study in 2024, 30 per cent of Australian workers reported that not feeling valued would be their main reason to consider leaving their roles. To address this concern, managers must have critical skills such as communication and emotional intelligence to create a work environment where their team members can feel empowered.
Leaders must demonstrate commitment to growth to hone these skills and thrive within their careers. They can achieve this through self-improvement or formal education, such as a postgraduate course in leadership or an MBA.
This postgraduate qualification empowers aspiring and established leaders by teaching valuable skills and helping them succeed. Students will develop abilities in:
- advanced leadership
- critical thinking
- expert communication
- risk management
- strategic thinking
- emotional intelligence
By learning from experienced professionals and collaborating with a diverse cohort, postgraduate students can take their skills to the next level and learn how to be a better manager and leader.
There are a wide range of options in Australia if you want to pursue a master's degree in leadership or an MBA, such as the following.
CQUniversity’s Master of Business (Leadership) is an online program designed for entrepreneurs, business owners and corporate managers. This course allows you to gain insights into the strategies, practices and key communication skills underpinning effective business leadership. Delivered entirely online, this program offers you an affordable, fresh and compelling graduate educational experience. You will not be bound by term dates or submission deadlines, allowing you to study when it's convenient for you.
The curriculum covers essential business functions and emphasizes leadership in contemporary business settings. This course will develop your capabilities to identify opportunities, resolve problems, create innovative solutions and be entrepreneurial.
The Master of Business Administration Sustainable Leadership program will guide you through how businesses can operate both profitably and in a manner that supports society, the economy and the environment.
You can gain core MBA competencies and the essential knowledge and skills required by sustainable enterprises and businesses of the future. This includes learning how to develop effective sustainability and CSR strategies, design and implement sustainability initiatives, and provide sustainability disclosure and reporting.
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Innovation and Leadership develops practical skills for today's business challenges.
Over the course of your study, you will be working on real projects with real commercial impact, while gaining exposure to some of the most successful and important organisations in the country. By working on projects with the university's industry partners, you’ll gain unprecedented insight into modern business challenges and the practical skill set to tackle these challenges head-on. This MBA program is structured around three major projects with industry partners.
The Master of Leadership is an opportunity for you to hone your skills alongside other senior leaders in strategic roles. You will focus on developing contemporary knowledge, and real experience, to ensure you graduate as a business leader.
Through integration of theoretical investigation and professional practice, you will learn to recognise and harness the capabilities of pivotal leaders. You will also put theory into practice through a workplace-based research project. This unique learning opportunity will require you to identify and define a problem, review relevant literature, design a study method, present findings, interpret results and present conclusions and recommendations with the support of a mentor who is expert in the field.
As a graduate, you will be primed for leadership roles in all sectors, including corporate, not-for-profit, government, IT, mining and education.
Available as a full-time program across 18 months (or the equivalent of part-time study), The Master of Leadership will provide you with the skills necessary to secure a leadership role in your chosen field, profession, or industry.
You will complete nine compulsory courses focusing on leadership, strategy and a project and have the option of specialisation in business, liberal arts or three general elective courses.
Each course is developed and offered by a team of respected leaders, combining a solid academic framework with strong commercial and industry experience in the degree program. The Master of Leadership program is a unique blend of class tutorials, networking, mentoring and interacting with guest lecturers.
Specialising in Leadership within UniSQ’s Master of Business will help you become a leader who can manage competing tensions, ambiguous demands and energise teams. Use your skills to balance the competing tensions of organisational stakeholders, society and the environment.
Organisations of all sizes and in all sectors require leaders who are equipped with ethical adaptive leadership skills to communicate and guide their people through continual changes.
Advance your leadership skills today
Becoming a great leader is a lifelong process. Leaders must commit to constant learning and development to excel in their careers. Pursuing a postgraduate degree can be a valuable venture to help them hone their leadership skills. Discover various postgraduate courses in leadership and MBAs in Australia that can elevate your career prospects.